The comments come amid mounting calls for the attorney general to recuse himself from investigations of links between Russian officials and the Trump campaign.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, arriving for President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, had two meetings with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. in 2016. JIM LO SCALZO/EPA/POOL/GETTY IMAGES
Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday denied discussing the 2016 campaign with any Russian officials after reports emerged that the former senator had two previously undisclosed meetings with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the presidential race last year.
Sessions also said conditionally that he would consider recusing himself from ongoing investigations by the Justice Department and FBI into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and its potential links to associates of President Donald Trump.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that "it would be easier" if the Alabama Republican, who as attorney general oversees the Justice Department and FBI, recused himself from the inquiries.
"I think, the trust of the American people, you recuse yourself in these situations," McCarthy said. He added: "I don't see anything very serious, I mean, by the standpoint there is an internal meeting here."
During a subsequent appearance on Fox News , McCarthy appeared to take back his remarks, telling "Fox & Friends" that "I'm not calling on him to recuse himself," and "it's amazing how people spin things so quickly.”
On Wednesday night, The Washington Post reported that Sessions, the first sitting senator to endorse Trump for president and a forceful advocate for the candidate, had met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in July and September. The second meeting took place in the senator's office, just as a Russian cyber campaign to muddy the presidential race was reaching its peak, according to intelligence officials.
In a Wednesday evening statement, the attorney general said he "never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false."
Sessions elaborated Thursday morning to NBC News: "I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign, and those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false. And I don't have anything else to say about that," he said.
On the ongoing Russia investigation, he added: "I've said whenever it's appropriate, I will recuse myself. There's no doubt about that."
Those denials, however, appear to contradict his testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation process for attorney general.
Asked on Jan. 10 by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., how he would react if there were evidence that anyone associated with the Trump campaign communicated with the Kremlin during the campaign, Sessions responded, "I'm not aware of any of those activities."
He later added, "I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign and I did not have communications with the Russians."
In a subsequent question submitted in writing, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked, "Have you been in contact with anyone connected to any part of the Russian government about the 2016 election, either before or after election day?"
Sessions' offered a one-word reply: "No."
Sessions' spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said in a statement Wednesday there was "absolutely nothing misleading about his answer.”
“He was asked during the hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign – not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee,” she said.
Isgur Flores maintained that, as a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the senator had more than two dozen conversations with foreign ambassadors in 2016. The Post contacted 20 committee members who said they had not met with the Russian ambassador last year.
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was forced to resign last month after reports emerged that he had discussed U.S. sanctions with Russia's ambassador during the month before Trump became president. Trump has said he saw no wrongdoing in Flynn's call but asked for his resignation because he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about the incident.
As law enforcement and national security agencies continue to investigate Russia's meddling in the U.S. election and its links to Trump associates, calls mounted for Sessions to recuse himself from the ongoing investigations.
Franken, who first asked Sessions about his potential interactions with Russian officials, was among them.
"These are contradictory statements and he should immediately recuse himself from any of this," Franken said on "Morning Joe."
Other Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have said that Sessions should resign.
"When Senator Sessions testified under oath that 'I did not have communications with the Russians,' his statement was demonstrably false, yet he let it stand for weeks," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. and the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement. "He continued to let it stand even as he watched the President tell the entire nation he didn't know anything about anyone advising his campaign talking to the Russians."
