WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ talks with the Russian ambassador (all times local):
6:40 p.m.
A White House official says President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and the man who would become national security adviser, Michael Flynn, met with Russia’s ambassador to the U.S. in December.
The official calls the sit-down at New York’s Trump Tower a “brief courtesy meeting.”
Flynn was fired last month because he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other White House officials about his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.
The Trump team’s public accounting of Flynn’s conversations with the ambassador have changed multiple times. The White House did not confirm the in-person meeting - or Kushner’s contact with the ambassador - until Thursday.
The official isn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insists on anonymity.
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6:18 p.m.
A former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign spoke with Russia’s ambassador to the United States over the summer.
A person with knowledge of the meeting says Carter Page talked with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at the same event where now-Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with the envoy.
Several foreign diplomats attended the Heritage Foundation event on the sidelines of the Republican National Convention in July.
Page briefly served as a foreign policy adviser to Trump’s campaign.
In a statement, Page doesn’t confirm the discussion took place but says he “never did anything improper in my activities related to Russia, both last year and throughout the quarter century that I have been traveling to that country.”
The person with knowledge of the discussion isn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly and insists on anonymity.
-by Julie Pace
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5:15 p.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is sending a letter to a Senate panel to explain his testimony under oath following revelations he twice met with the Russian ambassador and didn’t say so when pressed by lawmakers.
That’s the word from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, who says he has talked to Sessions.
Sessions said Thursday afternoon that he will recuse himself from an investigation into Russian meddling in the presidential election.
Grassley says he had asked Sessions to send the letter “so we can put this issue to bed once and for all.”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi says Sessions’ recusal isn’t enough and has repeated an earlier call for his resignation.
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4:35 p.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he should not be involved in investigating a presidential campaign he had a role in.
Sessions made the comment at a Thursday news conference where he announced he will recuse himself from any investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The move came after revelations that Sessions twice spoke to the Russia’s mbassador to the U.S. during the presidential campaign.
Sessions rejected any suggestion that he tried to mislead anyone about his contacts with the Russian, saying, “That is not my intent. That is not correct.”
But he says he “should have slowed down and said ’but I did meet with one Russian official a couple of times.’ “
Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente will handle any matters related to investigation.
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4:20 p.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he didn’t lie when he testified during his confirmation hearing that he had no interaction with Russians during the 2016 election campaign.
At a news conference Thursday, he continued to draw a distinction between his conversations with the Russian ambassador in his role as a senator and his role in the Trump campaign.
Still, Sessions is recusing himself from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the election. He says he is doing so at the urging of senior career officials in the Justice Department.
Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente will handle any matters related to the investigation.
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4:10 p.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he will recuse himself from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.
Sessions faced mounting pressure from both Democrats and Republicans to step aside after revelations that he had twice talked with Moscow’s U.S. envoy during the presidential campaign. Sessions’ conversations with the ambassador seem to contradict his sworn statements to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
The Justice Department said there was nothing improper about the meetings. Sessions insisted he never met with Russian officials to discuss the campaign.
Sessions said this week he would recuse himself when appropriate.
When attorneys general have recused themselves in the past, investigations were handled by lower-ranking but still senior political-appointees within the Justice Department.
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4:05 p.m.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer is defending Attorney General Jeff Sessions, saying he was simply doing his job as a former senator when he spoke with the Russian ambassador.
Spicer tells reporters aboard Air Force Once that Sessions did not mislead in sworn statements he made to Congress during his confirmation hearing.
At the hearing in January, Sessions was asked about allegations of contact between Russia and Trump aides during the 2016 election.
Sessions said he was “unaware” that anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government - despite his own conversations.
Spicer said that Session had been asked the question with respect to Sessions’ role as a surrogate for the campaign - not his role as senator.
He argues conversations with ambassadors are part of regular Senate business.
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3:40 p.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is planning a news conference after revelations he had contact with the Russian ambassador to the U.S. during last year’s White House campaign.
The Justice Department’s Thursday afternoon news conference comes as Sessions faces mounting pressure to resign or recuse himself over his communications with the Russian envoy.
Sessions spoke twice with the ambassador during the campaign. Those conversations appear to contradict Sessions’ testimony to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
Democrats are demanding that Sessions resign, while Democratic leaders and some Republicans say Sessions should step aside from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the election.
The Justice Department says there was nothing inappropriate about Sessions’ contacts. Sessions says he never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign.
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2:40 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he “wasn’t aware” that his attorney general -former Sen. Jeff Sessions - had contact with the Russian ambassador during last year’s White House campaign.
Trump made the comment in Newport News, Virginia, before giving a speech aboard the USS Gerald Ford.
Sessions spoke twice with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the campaign. Those conversations appear to contradict Sessions’ testimony to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
Democrats are demanding that Sessions resign over the contact, while Democratic leaders and some Republicans say Sessions should step aside from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the election.
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2:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he has “total” confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions as calls mount for the attorney general to resign or recuse himself over his contact with a Russian envoy.
Trump made the comment in Newport News Thursday. Asked if Sessions should recuse himself, he said “I don’t think so.”
Democrats are demanding that Sessions resign after the revelation that he had twice talked with Moscow’s envoy to the U.S. during the campaign.
Sessions’ conversations with the ambassador seem to contradict his sworn statements to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
Some Republicans are joining Democrats in calling on Sessions to step aside from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.
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1:20 p.m.
The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says he still doesn’t have any evidence that people associated with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign had improper contacts with Russian officials.
Rep. Devin Nunes (NOO’-nehs) made the comment to reporters after committee members heard from FBI Director James Comey (KOH’-mee).
Nunes says the only contact he’s aware of involves Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and the Russian ambassador to the United States.
The top Democrat on the committee, Adam Schiff, says the FBI director hasn’t provided a full counterintelligence briefing to committee members.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions also met with the Russian ambassador during the campaign - when Sessions was a senator and an adviser to the Trump campaign.
The Justice Department says there was nothing improper about the meetings.
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11:55 a.m.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer is defending Attorney General Jeff Sessions - saying that Sessions was “100 percent straight” about his contacts with Russia during his Senate confirmation hearings.
Top Democrats are demanding that Sessions resign after the revelation that he had twice talked with Moscow’s U.S. envoy during the campaign.
Sessions’ conversations with the ambassador seem to contradict his sworn statements to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
Some Republicans are joining Democrats in calling on Sessions to step aside from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.
Spicer tells Fox News that “there’s nothing” for Sessions “to recuse himself” from.
Spicer says people are “choosing to play partisan politics” and “should be ashamed of themselves.”
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11:50 a.m.
House Speaker Paul Ryan says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should only recuse himself from a Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the presidential election if Sessions is a subject of the probe.
Ryan says Congress has been “presented with no evidence that anyone on the Trump campaign or an American was involved in colluding with the Russians.”
Democrats have demanded Sessions’ resignation after the revelation that he had twice talked with Moscow’s U.S. envoy during the campaign. Sessions’ conversations seem to contradict Sessions’ sworn statements to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
Ryan says Republicans will “leave no stone unturned” in their own investigations of ties between Russia and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, which the House and Senate Intelligence Committees are conducting.
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11:25 a.m.
The top House Democrat says Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath when he told the Senate Judiciary that he had no contacts with the Russian government and says he should resign.
Nancy Pelosi says, “Perjury is a crime.”
In the meantime, Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Marco Rubio of Florida joined a growing chorus of Republicans calling upon Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation on contacts between the Russians and President Donald Trump’s campaign last year. Graham says, “Somebody other than Jeff needs to do it.”
Graham also tells reporters he is meeting Thursday with FBI Director James Comey and will demand to know whether there is an investigation into the Russia contacts.
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10:58 a.m.
A growing number of Republicans want Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the election and ties to the Trump campaign.
Ohio Sen. Rob Portman says in a statement that Sessions is a former colleague and a friend, “but I think it would be best for him and for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia probe.”
Portman joins congressmen Jason Chaffetz, Darrell Issa and Tom Cole in calling for Sessions to recuse himself,
Other Senate Republicans are rallying around Sessions, saying they trust him and that it’s up to Sessions whether to recuse himself.
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. He says, “I trust Jeff Sessions to make that decision.”
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10:33 a.m.
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren joins other Democrats in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign. She says there should be an independent special prosecutor named to oversee an investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. election.
Warren has clashed repeatedly with President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. The Massachusetts senator reacted in a series of tweets to reports that Sessions talked twice with Russia’s ambassador during the presidential campaign, conversations that seem to contradict sworn statements Sessions gave to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
The White House says Sessions met with the diplomat in his capacity as a then-U.S. senator, not a Trump campaign adviser.
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10:25 a.m.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign.
Several Republicans and Democrats have called for Sessions to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election following the revelation he talked twice with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign.
The conversations seem to contradict sworn statements Sessions gave to Congress during his confirmation hearings.
Schumer says a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the allegations of Russian interference and also look into whether the investigation has already been compromised by Sessions.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has accused Sessions of “lying under oath” and demanded that he resign.
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10:25 a.m.
Another congressional Republican says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from any investigation into Russia meddling in the election and links to the Trump campaign.
In a statement, congressman Darrell Issa of California joined House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz in calling on Sessions to recuse himself now.
Issa says, “We need a clear-eyed view of what the Russians actually did so that all Americans can have faith in our institutions.”
It is members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who typically meet with foreign ambassadors, not Armed Services Committee lawmakers whose responsibility is oversight of the military and the Pentagon. Congressional contact with Russian officials was limited after the invasion of Crimea and due to Moscow’s close relationship with Syria, a pariah for much of the West.
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9:15 a.m.
A Republican committee chairman says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.
Utah’s Jason Chaffetz chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He tells MSNBC that Sessions “is going to need to recuse himself at this point.”
The Justice Department has confirmed Sessions talked twice with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign, a seeming contradiction to sworn statements he gave to Congress.
Chaffetz told MSNBC that Sessions “should further clarify.”
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri called on Sessions to resign, and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said he should recuse himself.
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8:30 a.m.
A Democratic senator says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step aside from any role in the Justice Department’s investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia.
Minnesota’s Al Franken tells MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Sessions’ statements about his contacts with Moscow have been “contradictory.”
At Session’s confirmation hearing in January, Franken asked the then-Alabama senator what he would do if there was evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government during the 2016 White House race.
Sessions replied he was “unaware of those activities.” But the Justice Department has confirmed that Sessions had two conversations with Russia’s ambassador to the United States.
Franken is calling for an “independent prosecutor” to investigate any links the Trump campaign may have had with the Russian government and says Sessions must “come forward with the truth.”
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8:15 a.m.
A Kremlin spokesman says all the attention given to Jeff Sessions’ meetings with Russia’s U.S. ambassador during the U.S. presidential campaign last year could affect improved ties between the countries.
Sessions - who’s now President Donald Trump’s attorney general - was a senator and policy adviser to Trump’s campaign at the time of the meetings with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
Dmitry Peskov is the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Peskov tells reporters that he didn’t know about the meetings. But he says it’s normal for Russian diplomats to meet with U.S. lawmakers.
The White House says Sessions met with the diplomat in his capacity as a senator, rather than as a Trump campaign adviser.
Peskov is characterizing reaction to the news of the meetings as “an emotional atmosphere (that) leads to resistance to the idea of some kind of U.S.-Russia dialogue.”
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7:10 a.m.
A White House spokeswoman is assailing reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions twice talked to Russia’s ambassador to the United States during last year’s presidential campaign.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the reports “the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats.”
She says Sessions “met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony” to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a confirmation hearing in January.
Referring to questions on this issue that Sen. Al Franken raised with Sessions at that hearing, she said, “It’s no surprise Senator Al Franken is pushing this story immediately following President Trump’s successful address to the nation.”
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7:00 a.m.
A prominent Russian lawmaker close to the Kremlin is playing down the revelation that the Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice with Russia’s ambassador during the American presidential campaign.
The news that then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, who was a policy adviser to President Donald Trump’s campaign, had discussions with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak has added fuel to the controversy over whether Russia was improperly involved with Trump’s campaign. It spurred calls in Congress for Sessions to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.
Alexei Pushkov, a member of Russia’s upper house of parliament and former head of the lower chamber’s foreign affairs committee, said Thursday on Twitter: “It turns out that almost the entire US elite has ties to Russia … Paranoia knows no bounds.”
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2:37 a.m.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions talked twice with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season, communications that spurred calls in Congress for him to recuse himself from a Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election.
Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and a policy adviser to the Republican candidate, did not disclose those discussions at his confirmation hearing in January when asked what he would do if “anyone affiliated” with the campaign had been in contact with officials of the Russian government.
Sessions replied that he had not had communication with the Russians.
Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Wednesday night that “there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer.”
Sessions said, “I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false.”
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