Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team considering prosecuting former Attorney General Jeff Sessions for perjury but declined, saying there was not enough evidence he knowingly gave false answers to Congress.

Ahead of his confirmation hearing with Congress in 2017, then a U.S. Senator, Mr. Sessions insisted he had not been in contact with any Russians during or after the 2016 presidential campaign.

But the special counsel’s team uncovered that Mr. Sessions twice met with former Russian ambassador Sergey Kislayk in the midst of the 2016 campaign. Mr. Sessions later amended his testimony to note his contacts with Mr. Kislayk.

Mr. Sessions later told investigators that “he did not recall any discussions with the Russian Ambassador….regarding the campaign.” He also explained that he viewed the question to narrowly refer to Russians who sought to interfere with the 2016 election.

Prosecutors ultimately concluded it was entirely plausible based on evidence that Mr. Sessions did not remember his meetings with Mr. Kislayk thus declining to prosecute.

“The evidence is not sufficient to prove that Sessions gave knowingly false answers to Russia-related questions in light of the wording and context of those questions,” the report said.

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