--- title: The Russia Saga is Not Over Yet description: Just when the White House though it had turned a corner after the President's speech, new revelations about Russian contacts have surfaced. canonical: https://time.com/4689901/the-russia-saga-is-not-over-yet/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-03T18:42:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:19:12.529Z article:section: Politics og:title: The Russia Saga is Not Over Yet og:description: Just when the White House though it had turned a corner after the President's speech, new revelations about Russian contacts have surfaced. og:url: https://time.com/4689901/the-russia-saga-is-not-over-yet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Morning Must Reads og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Russia Saga is Not Over Yet twitter:description: Just when the White House though it had turned a corner after the President's speech, new revelations about Russian contacts have surfaced. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb24c27fcf0ec0da8/6986837dcd6848a30809364f/morning-must-reads1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Russia Saga is Not Over Yet > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5399b40e-ae2b-4c34-80af-5101dfb3e15c&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: President Trump Says He Has 'Total' Confidence in Jeff Sessions [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Says He Has 'Total' Confidence in Jeff Sessions](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sX5CF2Ef.m3u8) (0:25)  _Published 2017-03-02. President Donald Trump said there was no need and he retains "total" confidence in Sessions._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 3, 2017 6:42 PM UTC President Donald Trump said there was no need and he retains "total" confidence in Sessions. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 3, 2017 6:42 PM UTC It’s all coming up Russia. Just when the White House thought it had turned a corner after Tuesday’s address, new revelations about Trump aides’ contacts with Russian officials have overtaken the news cycle and forced Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from investigations into the 2016 election. There’s still been no proof of any impropriety in those conversations, but the fact that they were not disclosed—and the cracking of the Trump administration’s denials of contacts—will encourage reporters to keep digging. (A new meeting was uncovered yesterday by the New York Times between the Russian ambassador and Trump aides, including Jared Kushner, at Trump Tower last December.) The unforced errors surrounding Russia are mounting for the White House, which risks having all of the controversy distract or even sink the president’s legislative agenda. President Donald Trump is in Orlando visiting a Catholic school to highlight his school choice agenda Friday, before continuing to Palm Beach to address top donors to the Republican National Committee. It marks Trump’s fourth weekend of his presidency at “The Winter White House.” The White House is nixing Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis’ job picks. What Jeff Sessions thought of Bill Clinton. And George W. Bush opens up about Michelle Obama and SNL. _Here are your must reads:_ **Must Reads** [Attorney General Jeff Sessions Recuses Himself From Trump Campaign Investigations](http://time.com/4689492/jeff-sessions-russia-recuse/) Defends himself from charges of misleading Congress \[TIME\] [Jeff Sessions Used Political Funds for Republican Convention Expenses](https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeff-sessions-used-political-funds-for-republican-convention-expenses-1488509301) Records show attorney general used campaign account for travel expenses to Cleveland, where he met Russian envoy \[Wall Street Journal\] [Sergey Kislyak, Russian Envoy, Cultivated Powerful Network in U.S.](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/world/europe/sergey-kislyak-russian-ambassador.html?emc=edit%5Fth%5F20170303&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=55003713&%5Fr=0) Meet the man at the center of DC’s controversies \[New York Times\] [Paul Ryan’s feeling confident about repeal-and-replace.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/paul-ryans-feeling-confident-about-repeal-and-replace-mcconnell-not-so-much/2017/03/02/d931b26a-ff59-11e6-8ebe-6e0dbe4f2bca%5Fstory.html?utm%5Fterm=.0c7322621b44) McConnell not so much. \[Washington Post\] [Pence used personal email for state business](http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2017/03/02/pence-used-personal-email-state-business----and-hacked/98604904/) And he was hacked \[Indy Star\] [Trump courts donors with eye on 2020](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/trump-donors-2020-235632) After criticizing big-money influence in 2016, the president is rushing to consolidate donor support. \[Politico\] **Sound Off** “Jeff Sessions is an honest man. He did not say anything wrong. He could have stated his response more accurately, but it was clearly not intentional. This whole narrative is a way of saving face for Democrats losing an election that everyone thought they were supposed to win. The Democrats are overplaying their hand. They lost the election, and now they have lost their grip on reality. The real story is all of the illegal leaks of classified and other information. It is a total ‘witch hunt!'” —President Donald Trump is a statement late Thursday. “I should not be involved in investigating a campaign I had a role in” —Attorney General Jeff Sessions Thursday. **Bits and Bites** [Bill Clinton Gave Misleading Answers Under Oath. Here’s What Jeff Sessions Thought About That](http://time.com/4688990/jeff-sessions-perjury-bill-clinton-impeachment/) \[TIME\] [George W. Bush Breaks Down His Affection for Michelle Obama: ‘We Just Took to Each Other’](http://people.com/politics/george-w-bush-breaks-down-his-affection-for-michelle-obama-we-just-took-to-each-other/) \[People\] [Trump’s facts on Navy’s size don’t float](https://apnews.com/8e88ac68441f41b0a23e3a639e58e4fe/AP-FACT-CHECK:-Trump%27s-facts-on-Navy%27s-size-don%27t-float) \[Associated Press\] [George W. Bush argued with Lorne Michaels about who invented ‘strategery’](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/03/03/george-w-bush-jimmy-kimmel-live-strategery/98679742/) \[USA Today\] [Donald Trump Jr. Was Likely Paid at Least $50,000 for Event Held by Hosts Allied With Russia on Syria](https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-jr-was-likely-paid-at-least-50-000-for-event-held-by-hosts-allied-with-russia-on-syria-1488473640) \[Wall Street Journal\] [White House pushing back against Mattis appointment](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/jim-mattis-appointment-white-house-pushback-anne-patterson-235633) \[Politico\] [Meet the Tea Partiers Behind the Rallies for President Trump Around the U.S.](http://time.com/4688825/donald-trump-rallies-tea-party-spirit-america/) \[TIME\] [This Billionaire Advising President Trump Could Make Millions Off a New Ethanol Policy](http://time.com/4689257/carl-icahn-ethanol-policy/) \[TIME\] [Carter Page, Adviser Once Linked to Trump Campaign, Met With Russian Ambassador](http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/carter-page-adviser-once-linked-trump-campaign-met-russian-ambassador-n728511) \[NBC\] ## Transcript [00:00] Mr President, should Sessions excuse himself from [00:03] investigations into your campaign in Russia? I don't [00:06] think so at all. When did you first learn that Sessions [00:07] spoke to the Russian embassador? Did you know [00:10] during the campaign? I don't think we should do that at [00:11] all. Were you aware that he spoke to the Russian [00:13] Ambassador ?>> I wasn't aware at all .>> When did [00:13] you find out ?>> Mr. President don't you think he [00:16] should have spoken truthfully about whether he had [00:19] spoken to the Ambassador ?>> I think he probably [00:21] did .>> Chill back. Out the door. 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