“I don’t think it is right to accuse me of doing something wrong,” he added.

Democrats criticized Mr. Sessions for what they said was repeatedly making inaccurate statements. During his confirmation hearings in January, Mr. Sessions told the Senate that he had not had any contact with Russians. He has since acknowledged meeting privately with the Russian ambassador. Mr. Sessions said again on Tuesday that he believed the question was asked in the context of Russian election interference, and he answered in that spirit.

Congressional Republicans, who have consistently been his most important allies, came to Mr. Sessions’s defense. “You didn’t do anything wrong,” Representative Ron DeSantis of Florida said. When it appeared earlier this year that Mr. Trump was about to fire him, his former Senate colleagues formed a human shield, saying they would not confirm a replacement.

Mr. Sessions has fallen from favor at the White House, where Mr. Trump blames him for Mr. Mueller’s investigation. The president believes that if Mr. Sessions had not recused himself from the Russia investigation, there would have been no need for a special counsel. White House officials believe Mr. Sessions’s poor performances before Congress have only made things worse.

Even as Mr. Trump has acknowledged that he is not supposed to involve himself in Justice Department decision making, he has called for prosecutors to investigate Hillary Clinton and members of the Obama administration.

Mr. Sessions appeared to have received the message. In a Nov. 13 letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department said it would examine allegations that donations to the Clinton Foundation influenced a 2010 decision to allow a Russian agency to buy a Canadian company that owned access to uranium in the United States.

Mr. Sessions sidestepped questions about whether the president’s comments were appropriate.

“I have not been improperly influenced and would not be improperly influenced. The president speaks his mind. He’s a bold and direct about what he says,” Mr. Sessions said. “We do our duty every day based on the law and the facts.”