Jeff Sessions' Contacts With Russia: The Facts

Attorney General Jeff Sessions came under fire Thursday after multiple outlets, including the Washington Post and the Associated Press, reported that he met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential campaign, contrary to Sessions' testimony before the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi both called for Sessions' resignation in response to the reports, while some Republicans asked for the attorney general to recuse himself from further Justice Department investigations into Russian espionage.

While the full story is still unfolding, here are the facts as we know them so far:

1. Sessions' testified to the Senate that he did not have communications with the Russians.

During Sessions' Senate confirmation testimony for the position of attorney general delivered in January, Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, asked what the nominee would do if he discovered evidence that Trump associates communicated with Russia during the campaign.

“I’m not aware of any of those activities,” Sessions said. “I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians.”

2. Sessions had an official advisor role in the Trump campaign.

Then-Sen. Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump for president. On March 3, 2016, the campaign announced that Sessions as Chairman of the National Security Advisory Committee.

3. Sessions now claims he never spoke with Russian officials — about the campaign.

"I have never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign," Sessions said in a statement issued Wednesday night by Sarah Flores, director of public affairs at the Department of Justice. "I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false."

Flores also told the Washington Post that there was nothing misleading about Sessions' answer to Franken's questions.

4. The Washington Post, Associated Press and New York Times all reported that Sessions spoke with the ambassador on two occasions.

The first meeting occurred in July, at a Heritage Foundation event related to the Republican National Convention, according to the reports. Fifty ambassadors attended, and Russian Ambassador Kislyak was among a small group who were reportedly allowed to speak individually with Sessions.

The second meeting took place in September, the reports say, and was held privately in the senator's office.

5. The White House has confirmed the meeting but called the reports an attack.

"This is the latest attack against the Trump Administration by partisan Democrats," Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. "General Sessions met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony. It's no surprise that Senator Al Franken is pushing this story immediately following President Trump's successful address to the nation."

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