Sessions fires back

Attorney-General calls Russian collusion talk ‘appalling lie’

ATTORNEY-GENERAL Jeff Sessions has heatedly denied having an undisclosed meeting with Russia’s ambassador to the US.

Testifying at a packed Senate hearing, Mr Sessions also declared it was a “detestable and appalling lie” to suggest he was aware of or took part in any collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump’s election campaign.

The controversial figure, who was a close Trump adviser during the battle for the presidency, rejected any idea of misconduct in the ousting of FBI director James Comey and vowed to defend his honour “against scurrilous and false allegations.”

In his dramatic appearance before former colleagues, Mr Sessions contradicted a contention made by Mr Comey at a hearing before the same panel last week.

Mr Comey had testified that, after an encounter with President Trump in which he said Mr Trump pressured him to back off an investigation into the former national security adviser, Mr Comey “implored” Mr Sessions to make sure he was never left alone with the president again – but Mr Sessions didn’t respond.

“He didn’t recall this, but I responded to his comment by agreeing that the FBI and Department of Justice needed to be careful to follow department policy regarding appropriate contacts with the White House,” Mr Sessions said.

Mr Sessions also defended accusations he misrepresented himself during his confirmation hearing when he said he hadn’t met with Russian officials during the campaign. He argued that in the context of that hearing, “my answer was a fair and correct response to the charge as I understood it.”

Mr Sessions stepped aside from a probe into Russian meddling in the campaign on March 2, the day after The Washington Post reported on two previously undisclosed meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.