Jeff Sessions Refers To Trump Speech At ‘Jewish AIPAC Event’ In Contentious Hearing
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By Aiden Pink June 14, 2017
Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ testimony on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee was highly contentious, as the Justice Department chief refused to answer numerous questions about conversations with President Trump and frequently stated that he did not recall alleged meetings with Russian officials.
But he did explain that he went to see a Trump speech at Washington, D.C.’s Mayflower Hotel, where Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak was present, because the only other time that he had heard Trump speak was “at the Jewish AIPAC event.”
Sessions was referring to Trump’s speech at the Verizon Center during the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference. Some 18,000 people filled the arena, a great many of whom were Jewish. In fact, there were likely more Jews at Trump’s speech than the number that live in Alabama, which Sessions represented in the Senate for 20 years.
AIPAC defines itself as a pro-Israel organization, not an explicitly Jewish one. It also has a significant Christian support base.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter @aidenpink.
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