Jeff Sessions Testifies On President Trump's Firing Of James Comey

WASHINGTON, DC — Attorney General Jeff Sessions refused to answer any questions before the Senate Wednesday about his conversations with President Trump in the runup to the controversial firing of then-FBI Director James Comey. Comey's termination sparked a series of events that led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to oversee the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election that continues to haunt the president.

And according to multiple reports, Mueller is now investigating Trump for obstruction of justice in connection with his decision to fire the former FBI director.

Sessions' role in the firing was immediately controversial, since he had recused himself from the Russia investigation that Comey was overseeing. Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Sessions defended the decision, citing Comey's unorthodox behavior during the investigation into Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails.

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WATCH: Sessions Tells Senators He Urged Comey Firing

Sessions said it was "the first time I'm aware of" in which an FBI director had performed the traditional role of Justice Department prosecutors by announcing his own the conclusion of a federal investigation — that no charges would be brought against Clinton.

The attorney general said he was further galled when Comey, one week before his firing, insisted to Congress that he would have taken the same actions again.

Trump has accused Comey of having prematurely exonerated Clinton, even though the Justice Department's own explanation for the firing cited Comey's decision to effectively reopen the probe days before the November election.

Wednesday morning, Trump lashed out at Comey once again on Twitter:

Sessions stressed at the outset that he would not discuss any private conversations with the president and he largely abided by that principle, deflecting questions not only about the Russia investigation but also about the president's pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, among other topics.

The Russia probe has shadowed much of Sessions' tenure as attorney general, even though he recused himself in March because of his role as a stanch Trump campaign ally. It was a central focus the oversight hearing, too, as lawmakers repeatedly pressed Sessions about his contacts with the former Russian ambassador to the U.S., his discussions with Trump about the investigation and his involvement in the firing of Comey.

As was publicly revealed at the time of Comey's firing, Sessions said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein provided written justification for letting the FBI director go.

"He did ask for our written opinion and we submitted that to him," Sessions said. "It did not represent any change in either one of our opinions."

Questions posed to Sessions during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing covered a range of topics beyond the Russia investigation and Comey's behavior.

WATCH: Sessions Doesn't Think He Gave False Testimony On Russian Contacts

Pressed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, Sessions refused to pledge that he won't seek to jail journalists for doing their jobs. He said he could not make that "blanket" commitment.

His position is a reversal of the stance taken by attorneys general in the Obama administration, who had said they would not seek to imprison members of the news media who were doing their jobs. The Trump administration has announced an aggressive crackdown on leaks of national security information to journalists.

Democratic Sen. Al Franken, also of Minnesota, accused Sessions of "moving the goalposts" in denying his interactions with the Russian ambassador.

In a testy exchange, Franken confronted Sessions about his testimony in January, in which the attorney general said he had no communications with Russians. Sessions' later recusal from the Justice Department's investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia came about when it was revealed he had conversations with the ambassador. Franken says Sessions' explanations of those interactions continue to change.

But Sessions, visibly frustrated and his voice rising, called Franken's line of questioning unfair. He says he answered the question as a surrogate of the Trump campaign. Sessions says he may have discussed Trump's campaign positions with the ambassador but insists he did not have a continuing exchange of information with him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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