What Did Sessions Say About Russia? 4 Times Attorney General Denied Links To Kremlin

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been resolute in his denials of having any ties to Russia, but a recent bombshell report has contradicted those claims, making the former Alabama senator the latest member of President Donald Trump's administration to be accused of having secret communications with Russian officials.

"I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign," Sessions told an NBC News camera crew that staked out his home in Washington, D.C., Thursday morning. "Those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false. And I don't have anything else to say about that."

Democrats have demanded Sessions step down for a number of reasons, but this latest allegation has fueled their resolve to have the attorney general recuse himself from an investigation into alleged Russian ties to the Trump administration and presidential campaign leading up to and including the 2016 election.

Russia interfered with the U.S. elections in November, American intelligence agencies have declared. Recently-confirmed National Security Adviser Michael Flynn resigned after his links to Russia came to light last month.

"I have said whenever it's appropriate, I will recuse myself," Sessions said Thursday. "There's no doubt about that."

At the heart of the matter were accusations that Sessions did not disclose alleged meetings he had with a Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, who U.S. officials have long suspected was a spy. Sessions spoke with Kislyak two separate times last year, once in July and once in September, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

But Sessions released a statement denying that ever happened.

"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," Sessions insisted.

Minnesota Sen. Al Franken pressed Sessions on his alleged contact with Russians during the attorney general's confirmation. Sessions responded by denying those claims outright.

"Sen. Franken, I am not aware of any of those activities. I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I did not have communications with the Russians, and I am unable to comment on it," Sessions told Congress while under oath in January.

The recent allegations have led some top Republicans to suggest that Sessions should recuse himself from the investigation, but those demands fell short of asking for the new attorney general to resign.