US attorney general offered to resign over Russia — report

The ongoing saga of whether the Russians influenced the last US presidential elections in President Donald Trump’s favor took a new turn Tuesday with revelations that Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered to resign over the issue.

ABC News reported that the offer was made against the backdrop of Trump’s anger with Sessions over the latter’s decision in March to recuse himself from dealing with any aspect of the Russia case — a decision the president has repeatedly blamed for the expansion of the Russia probe.

Washington is gearing up for Thursday’s highly anticipated congressional testimony by former FBI director James Comey, sacked by Trump allegedly for refusing to shut down a probe into Michael Flynn, a national security adviser fired for having apparently lied about his contacts with Russia’s ambassador.

On Tuesday evening, a person familiar with the situation said that before he was fired, Comey had asked Sessions to keep him from being alone with Trump.

The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported Tuesday that the president had also tried to put pressure on Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, asking him to issue a public statement denying that there was any evidence of coordination between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Coats did not act on the request, according to officials.

Coats refused to detail his interactions with Trump when he appeared before a Senate Armed Services Committee last month. But he has indicated that he will provide the details should he be asked by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who is leading the Russia probe, or by an investigative committee such as the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Democrats have accused Trump of firing Comey to upend the FBI’s Russia probe, which focused in large part on whether campaign aides coordinated with Moscow to hack Democratic groups during the election.

AP contributed to this report.