WASHINGTON (AP) Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whose contacts with Russia's ambassador to the USA during the presidential campaign have sparked questions, agreed Saturday to appear before the Senate intelligence committee as it investigates alleged Russian meddling in the election.
In a letter to Senator Richard Shelby on Saturday, Sessions has written that his decision to appear comes in light of last week's testimony by fired Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey.
Sessions, whose contacts with Russia's ambassador to the USA during the presidential campaign has sparked questions, agreed Saturday, June 10, to appear before the Senate intelligence committee as it investigates alleged Russian meddling in the election. The Justice Department has denied that, saying Sessions stressed to Comey the need to be careful about following appropriate policies.
So we were convinced - in fact, I think we'd already heard the career people were recommending that he recuse himself, that he was not going to be in contact with Russia-related matters much longer.
Those reports led Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the presidential contest.
Sessions said he wanted to appear before the panel to address questions about him that arose last week during former FBI Director James Comey's testimony.
Sessions said his decision to accept the intelligence committee's invitation to appear was due in part to Comey's testimony.
Sessions had been due to appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee tomorrow about the Justice Department's budget for 2018, but said the switch of hearing was necessary as it had become clear he would be questioned about Russian Federation.
"I don't understand why the president just doesn't clear this matter up once and for all", said Sen.
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Democrats appeared to have set a record with more than 500,000 votes cast, compared with about 350,000 in the Republican contest. Gillespie vows to pursue "timeless conservative principles", including a 10 percent cut in state income tax rates.
During his testimony, Comey said the FBI had learned about something regarding Sessions "that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic".
The Senate Appropriations Committee had called in the attorney general to testify about budget issues. Comey said he couldn't discuss it publicly.
Kamala Harris, D-Calif., asked Comey a series of questions about Sessions' involvement in the Russian Federation investigation during the two weeks between Trump expressing his "hope" that Comey could let go of the probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and Sessions' recusal from inquiries related to the election.
Sessions is likely to be asked about his conversations with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and whether there were more encounters that should have been made public.
WYDEN: Let me turn to the attorney general.
Sessions wrote the chairmen that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein will take his place before both the House and Senate subcommittees to testify about the Justice Department's budget.
Sessions did not specify whether he would testify in an open or closed setting.
Two sources familiar with what Comey said in the closed door gatherings told NBC News about the confirmation.
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