Story highlights Comey told senators the new information in the closed hearing this afternoon, sources say

But the sources said it is possible the Russian ambassador exaggerated the extent of the encounter

Washington (CNN) Former FBI Director James Comey told senators in a closed hearing Thursday afternoon that Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have had a third interaction with Russia's ambassador to the US, according to people familiar with the briefing.

Comey explained that the possibility there could have been another encounter was not something he wanted to discuss in the earlier public hearing, according to a source familiar with the briefing.

The information is based in part on Russian-to-Russian intercepts where the meeting was discussed, three sources familiar with the information tell CNN.

But the sources said it is possible the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, was exaggerating the extent of the encounter.

CNN previously reported exclusively that congressional investigators are examining whether Sessions had an additional private meeting with Russia's ambassador during the presidential campaign, according to Republican and Democratic Hill sources and intelligence officials briefed on the investigation.

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