Attorney General Jeff Sessions will hold a news conference Thursday afternoon, his first since disclosures made about his contact with the Russian ambassador to the United States sparked scrutiny and even calls for his resignation.
The disclosures, made Wednesday night, have led lawmakers to call on Mr. Sessions to resign his office or to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian hacking during the presidential election and possible links to President Trump’s campaign.
The Justice Department did not explicitly say what topics Mr. Sessions plans to address during the 4 p.m. news conference.
Earlier in the day, the Justice Department confirmed that Mr. Sessions met twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak: once at his Senate office in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a second time in a group setting with other ambassadors following a Heritage Foundation speech.
But Mr. Sessions has pushed back against allegations that he lied when he told Congress he had not been in contact with Russian officials, with a spokeswoman noting that he met with more than 25 conversations with foreign ambassadors last year as a member of the Armed Services Committee.
Sessions spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said then Sen. Sessions was asked during hearings “about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign — not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee.”
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• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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