Jeff Sessions Testimony: Attorney General Denies Having Undisclosed Meetings with Russian Officials
During a Congress hearing, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has denied having undisclosed meetings with Russian officials at a Washington DC hotel.
Jeff Sessions also told the Senate Intelligence Committee any suggestion he colluded with the Kremlin was “an appalling and detestable lie”.
America’s top law official also repeatedly refused to answer questions about his private conversations with President Donald Trump.
Jeff Sessions vowed to defend his honor “against scurrilous and false allegations”.
His remarks came after sacked FBI Director James Comey said he believed he was fired to influence the agency’s investigation into Russian political meddling.
US intelligence agencies believe that Moscow interfered in the last year’s election in order to help Donald Trump get elected.
The Senate committee is of one several congressional panels that, along with a special counsel, is also investigating whether any Trump campaign officials colluded with the alleged Kremlin plot.
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Jeff Sessions told the Senate committee he has never received a classified briefing about Russian meddling in last year’s election.
He also vehemently denied speaking to Russian officials about the election, during a campaign in which he was a close adviser to Donald Trump.
Jeff Sessions said on June 13: “I have never met with or had any conversation with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States.”
He is the most senior member of the Trump administration to testify before the Senate committee.
Jeff Sessions acknowledged he met Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak twice, but suggested he could not remember whether he met the envoy at a foreign policy speech event for then-candidate Donald Trump at the Mayflower Hotel on April 27, 2016, as media have reported.
The former Alabama senator also denied media reports that he offered his resignation when Donald Trump was reportedly angered by his recusal from the FBI Russia probe, telling the panel he “will not be deterred”.
Vice-Chairman Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, pressed Jeff Sessions about his role in the sacking of James Comey.
Jeff Sessions said he never spoke to the former FBI director, who reports to the US attorney general, about his job performance before President Trump fired him in May.
However, Jeff Sessions did confirm James Comey’s assertion that he told the US attorney general that he felt uncomfortable speaking directly to President Trump in a one-on-one setting.
Several Democratic senators expressed frustration because Jeff Sessions repeatedly refused to answer questions relating to conversations he had with the president.
Similar answers were heard last week during testimony from intelligence chiefs before the same panel.