Sessions: Any suggestion I colluded with Russia is 'detestable lie'

WASHINGTON — Embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that any suggestion he colluded with Russian officials while he was advising the Trump campaign is "an appalling and detestable lie."

"Let me state this clearly," Sessions said. "I have never met with or had any conversations with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election. I was your colleague in this body for 20 years, and the suggestion that I participated in any collusion ... to undermine the integrity of our democratic process is an appalling and detestable lie."

An animated Sessions called the implication that he took part in an influence campaign against an American election “beyond’’ both his reach and the plot of the most outrageous spy novels and movies.

“It’s just like through the looking glass,’’ Sessions said. "I mean, what is this?"

Sessions also said he could “not recall” a reported meeting with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during an April 2016 campaign event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington that some Democrats have seized on as possible evidence that the attorney general has not fully disclosed prior contacts with Russian officials. Former FBI director James Comey appeared to refer to the encounter last week in testimony before the same committee when he suggested that federal authorities were engaged in a review of the matter.

"I did not have any private meetings nor do I recall any conversations with any Russian officials at the Mayflower Hotel," Sessions testified. "I did not attend any meetings at that event. Prior to the speech (by President Trump), I attended a reception with my staff that included at least two dozen people and President Trump ... I do not have any recollection of meeting or talking to the Russian Ambassador or any other Russian officials."

Sessions displayed flashes of anger during questioning by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., when the senator pressed him about suggestions that he had failed to provide full disclosure about his meetings with Kislyak.

Bouncing in his chair, the attorney general asserted that “secret innuendo is being leaked out there about me. People are suggesting through innuendo that I’m not being honest about matters.’’

In a quick series of questions posed by Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., Sessions was less than definitive in his answers about his possible contacts with Russians, indicating that he was unnerved by her fast-paced questioning.

“I don’t believe I have had any conversations with Russian businessmen or Russian nationals (during the campaign),’’ Sessions said. “If I qualify it, I will be accused of lying. I’m not used to being rushed like this, it makes me nervous.’’

At one point, Sessions seemed to surprise some senators when he asserted that he had not been briefed on the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election since taking office because he had begun considering his recusal from the Russia matter immediately after his swearing-in. Sessions said he recused himself because of departmental rules that bar his participation in an investigation of a campaign he was involved in.

“I have no knowledge of the investigation beyond what has been reported in the press,’’ Sessions said. “And I don’t even read that.’’

Sessions' testimony came in an extraordinary public session in which senators grilled the nation's chief law enforcement officer repeatedly on his prior contacts with Kislyak, his involvement in Comey'sfiring, and a Feb. 14 White House meeting where Sessions was excluded from a private conversation between Trump and Comey where Comey asserted that the president urged him to drop the FBI's investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

The attorney general, however, frustrated many Democratic senators by continually refusing to disclose the content of his conversations with Trump, including whether Trump expressed disagreement with the appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Russia investigation and whether the president told him that he fired Comey because of his handling of the Russia investigation.

“I’m protecting the president’s constitutional right by not giving it away,’’ Sessions said.

The high-stakes testimony took place amid reported friction between Sessions and Trump, who criticized the attorney general's decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe. Sessions reportedly offered to resign in the wake of the president's criticism. But Sessions staunchly refused to reveal any direct communications with the president.

"You're impeding this investigation," Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., told Sessions when he declined to answer the questions.

Sessions did, however, offer some explanation on why he participated in Comey's firing despite his previous recusal from the Russia inquiry.

He said it would be "absurd to suggest that a recusal from a single investigation would prevent me from managing an agency," including the employment of the FBI director.

Sessions repeatedly maintained that he was right to participate in Comey's firing.

“It is my responsibility,’’ he said. “The recusal involved one case in the Department of Justice and the FBI. I’m the attorney general of the United States. It's my responsibility to ensure that the department is run properly. I do not  believe it is a sound position that if you recuse for a single case, you can’t make a decision about the leadership of that agency.’’

Sessions cited Comey’s May 3 Senate Judiciary Committee testimony in which the director defended his management of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of State. The attorney general said Comey's testimony offered a “breathtaking usurpation” of Justice policy, by affirming his prior decision not to charge Clinton without consulting top Justice leadership.

Sessions then challenged Comey’s testimony that Sessions failed to act on his concerns about Trump’s direct contact with Comey on Feb. 14. In that meeting, the former FBI director said the president urged him to dump the FBI investigation into Flynn and later expressed concern to Sessions about the private nature of the contact.

Comey testified that he did not brief Sessions on what he felt was Trump pressuring him on the investigation because he knew Sessions was considering recusing himself from the Russia inquiry, a decision that was publicly announced just weeks later. Departing from Comey's testimony, the attorney general said he acted on Comey’s concern, urging caution in future contacts between the White House and FBI, and to adhere to Justice Department guidelines that require communications involving the White House to be routed through the attorney general or deputy attorney general.

"I encouraged him to do just that," Sessions said.

Still, he maintained "there is nothing wrong" with the president communicating directly with the FBI.

"What is problematic is to talk … about ongoing investigations that are not properly cleared through top levels of the Department of Justice," Sessions testified.

Read more:

Timeline: Key moments in the FBI probe of Russia's efforts to influence the 2016 election

Analysis: AG Jeff Sessions defends Jeff Sessions. But what about Donald Trump?

Jeff Sessions, Ron Wyden tussle over James Comey's testimony

What did Al Franken ask Jeff Sessions during his confirmation hearing?

Aboard Air Force One with President Trump returning from Wisconsin, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders was asked if Trump watched Sessions' testimony. "He wasn’t able to watch much of it. He was preparing for the stop here today, but what he did see and what he heard, he thought that Attorney General Sessions did a very good job and, in particular, was very strong on the point that there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign,” Sanders said.

Sessions' testimony comes less than a week after Comey raised questions about the attorney general’s actions.

“Attorney General Sessions, this is your opportunity to separate fact from fiction,’’ said Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C.

Just hours before Sessions’ appearance, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told a separate Senate panel that there was no reason to consider the removal of Russia special counsel Robert Mueller, despite suggestions that Trump was weighing such an action.

“I appointed him; I stand by that decision,’’ Rosenstein told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee. “I will defend the integrity of that investigation.’’

Because Sessions recused himself from all matters related to the investigation, the authority to appoint and remove the special counsel belongs to Rosenstein.

Sessions told the Intelligence Committee that he has "confidence in Mr. Mueller." And he pledged not to interfere with Mueller’s management of the inquiry because of his prior recusal.

Asked whether he felt “misled’’ when Trump said he had dismissed Comey because of his handling of the Russia investigation after he and the deputy attorney general had cited Comey’s management of the Clinton email inquiry, Sessions asserted that he did not know what was in the president’s mind.

But Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., also cited Sessions’ conflicting statements related to Comey’s management of the Clinton case. During the campaign, Reed referred to Sessions’ comments lauding Comey’s handling of the matter, both when Comey recommended that no charges be filed and later when he reopened the investigation just 11 days before Election Day.

“In retrospect,’’ Sessions said, Comey’s handling of the Clinton case “may be more egregious’’ than he had earlier thought.

At the end of the more than two-hour hearing, Burr referenced Sessions’ repeated refusal not to disclose the content of his conversations with Trump and urged the attorney general to discuss the matter with the White House so that he could be more forthcoming in the future.

Contributing: David Jackson