Sessions says he’ll testify Tuesday to answer questions

WASHINGTON — Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he will appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about his dealings with Russian officials.

Sessions, who came under criticism for failing to report two meetings with the Russian ambassador, wrote a letter Saturday saying he wanted to answer questions raised during former FBI Director James B. Comey’s testimony on Thursday.

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.” Comey said he couldn’t discuss it publicly.

In a closed session afterward, Comey was reported to have said the FBI had received unconfirmed reports that Sessions might have had a third undisclosed meeting with Ambassador Sergey Kisylak during a reception for then-candidate Donald Trump at Washington’s Mayflower Hotel.

A Justice Department spokeswoman has said that no such meeting occurred.

In March, Sessions recused himself from supervising the investigation into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Sessions had come under fire for failing to disclose during his confirmation hearing two meetings with the ambassador, but said he recused only because he had worked so closely with Trump during the campaign.

Sessions had been scheduled to testify Tuesday before a joint appropriations subcommittee of Congress, but he sent letters to the committee chairmen saying he would testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee instead.

A Justice Department official said it is likely that that committee hearing will be closed to the public.