Trump said it was unfair Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Russia probe. Credit:AP Senator Richard Burr chairman of the committee, said Sessions' testimony was his opportunity to "separate fact from fiction." Burr's Democratic counterpart, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, quickly challenged Sessions' previous denial of contact with the Russians. "The fact is that you did indeed have interactions with Russian government officials during the course of the campaign," Warner said. Russian collusion

Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak Credit:AP In his opening statement, Sessions said any suggestion that he participated in or was aware of any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government to undermine the democratic process "is an appalling and detestable lie." Sessions also denied talking to any Russian official in the Mayflower Hotel in Washington at an event in April 2016, rejecting reports that he may have had an undisclosed meeting with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, at that event. Jeff Sessions appearing before the Senate committee on Tuesday. Credit:Washington Post livestream He said he recalled no private conversations with any Russian officials at that reception and "if any brief interaction occurred in passing with the Russian ambassador, I do not remember it."

The Huffington Post reported March 8 that Sessions and Kislyak had attended that event, at which Trump was also present, but that it was not clear whether the two had spoken. CNN has more recently reported that there continue to be questions about whether there was such a meeting. The issue matters because Sessions testified at his confirmation hearing that he did not communicate with the Russians in 2016, but it later emerged that he had at least two contacts with Kislyak; the question is whether there was a third. (Sessions has said his answer at the hearing was accurate in context.) Communications with Trump

Sessions refused to talk about direct communications with Trump, saying, "I cannot and will not violate my duty to protect the confidential communications I have with the president." Pressed by Warner, though, Sessions clarified that Trump had not invoked executive privilege -- a constitutional doctrine that permits a president to shield his confidential communications with subordinates. Rather, he said it was a matter of longstanding Justice Department practices to keep those discussions secret. "I'm not able to comment on conversations with high officials in the White House," Sessions said, denying that he was "stonewalling." As the testimony unfolded, that played out in several ways. For example, at one point, Sessions refused to say whether he had discussed the FBI investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 election with Trump. At another, asked by Senator Marco Rubio about the account the account of James Comey, the former FBI director, that Trump had cleared the Oval Office after a February 14 meeting -- including asking Sessions to leave -- Sessions said that would be a White House communication he could not comment on.

But when Rubio asked if Sessions remembered seeing Comey stay behind, Sessions replied, "Yes." Sen. Martin Heinrich criticised Sessions for refusing to answer questions about his conversations with Trump. The senator argued that since the president had not invoked executive privilege, Sessions had no legal basis for declining to provide answers, accusing him of "obstructing" the congressional investigation. Sessions said he believed it would be inappropriate to discuss confidential communications with the president that were potentially subject to executive privilege before Trump had an opportunity to decide whether to invoke it. "I have consulted with senior career attorneys in the department," Sessions said. "I believe this is consistent with my duties." Sessions contradicts Comey

Sessions offered a different account of what he said when Comey approached him following a meeting February 14 in the Oval Office with Trump. Comey recounted that after a routine counterterrorism meeting, Trump cleared the room of everyone else -- including Sessions -- and then made comments that Comey interpreted as an improper request to drop an investigation into Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser. Afterward, Comey said, he "implored" Sessions never to leave him alone with the president again, but Sessions did not respond. After Comey's testimony last week, the Justice Department released a statement contesting Comey's account that Sessions had merely remained silent, and Sessions himself on Tuesday said directly and under oath that he did respond. "While he did not provide me with any of the substance of his conversation with the president, Mr. Comey expressed concern about the proper communications protocol with the White House and with the president," Sessions said.

"I responded to his comment by agreeing that the FBI and Department of Justice needed to be careful to follow department policies regarding appropriate contacts with the White House." He added: "I was confident that Mr Comey understood and would abide by the department's well-established rules governing any communications with the White House about ongoing investigations. My comments encouraged him to do just that, and indeed, as I understand, he did." Robert Mueller's tenure Under questioning from Warner, Sessions said he would not have anything to do with any effort, should one emerge, to fire Robert Mueller as special counsel, since he is recused from the Russia investigation Mueller is leading. "I wouldn't think that would be appropriate for me to do," he said.

As things stand, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is the acting attorney general for the purpose of overseeing the Russia investigation, and so oversees Mueller. Still, Sessions was involved in recommending the firing of Comey -- a decision Trump said he made while thinking about the Russia investigation -- despite being recused from it. Sessions defends his recusal Sessions defended his involvement in the decision to fire Comey, explaining that his recusal did not prevent him from having a say in his department's management decisions. "It is absurd, frankly, to suggest that a recusal from a single specific investigation would render an attorney general unable to manage the leadership of the various Department of Justice law enforcement components that conduct thousands of investigations," he said. He argued that he recused himself not because of "any sort of wrongdoing," but in accordance with department regulations regarding his involvement with Trump's presidential campaign.

"This is the reason I recused myself," he said, holding up a copy of the rule. "I felt I was required to under the rules of the Department of Justice." But Sessions made it clear that would not stop him from defending himself. "I recused myself from any investigation into the campaign for president, but I did not recuse myself from defending my honour against scurrilous and false accusations," he said. Misleading senators? Sessions sent a stand-in to the Appropriations Committee, Rosenstein, but that did not stop Democrats there from venting their frustrations at him.

Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the committee's top Democrat, criticised Sessions for opting to testify in front of the Intelligence Committee instead of appearing as planned to make the case for the Justice Department's budget, saying attorneys general do not "cower" when called upon by Congress. Leahy said he had questions about the role of Sessions in the firing of Comey, as well as what he called "false testimony" by Sessions about his interactions with Russian officials during his confirmation hearing -- questions he could not ask Rosenstein. "I won't mince words," he said to Rosenstein. "You're not the witness we were supposed to hear from today. You're not the witness who should be behind that table. That responsibility lies with the attorney general of the United States." New York Times