» Sessions in session:

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, under fire over contacts with Russians, will testify Tuesday before the Senate intelligence committee.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Jeff Sessions, under fire over contacts with Russians and his actions before President Trump’s firing of FBI director James Comey, will testify in public Tuesday afternoon before the Senate intelligence committee.

“He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committee’s questions tomorrow,” said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.

Sessions is scheduled to testify less than a week after Comey told the same panel that Trump fired him in order to interfere with the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

Comey also told senators that Sessions is vulnerable in the Russia probe because he may have had a third, previously undisclosed meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, a key figure in the investigation.

Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation in March after acknowledging two contacts with Kislyak; during a confirmation hearing in January, Sessions said he had not met with Russians during last year’s presidential campaign.

Sessions is expected to testify starting about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.