Attorney General Jeff Sessions Scheduled At 2:30 PM EDT Tuesday
Sessions will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee. That’s the same committee that heard from fired FBI Director James Comey last week. Sessions requested the appearance over the weekend, but until now it was unclear if the session would be open or closed to the public.
In a letter, Sessions explained “In light of reports regarding Mr. Comey’s recent testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, it is important that I have an opportunity to address these matters in an appropriate forum.”
New information related to Sessions came out right before and during Comey’s testimony. In Comey’s written statement, he brought up the fact that the FBI sort of knew Sessions would have to recuse himself from the Russia investigation two weeks before he actually did. When Oregon Senator Ron Wyden followed up on that, Comey explained “We also were aware of facts that I can’t discuss in an open setting that would make his continued involvement in a Russia-related investigation problematic.” You can watch that exchange here:
Sessions was supposed to appear before House and Senate appropriations subcommittees to discuss Justice Department budget goals. (FYI: he mentioned the opioid crisis and violent crime as the two biggest areas of focus.) But he said he became concerned those hearings would turn into a free-for-all about the Russia investigation instead. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will appear at those hearings in his place.