Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in his testimony Tuesday that he hasn't been briefed on Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions testified on Tuesday that he hasn't been briefed on the U.S. investigation into Russian efforts to sway the recent presidential race.
During his Senate Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday, Senator Angus King asked Sessions if he believes “the Russians interfered with the 2016 election.”
Sessions said in response, “It appears so. The intelligence community seems to be united in that. But I have to tell you Senator King, I know nothing but what I've read in the paper. I've never received any detailed briefing on how hacking occurred or how information was alleged to have influenced the campaign." In early March, the attorney general recused himself from any investigation relating to President Trump’s campaign after it became public that he had met with the Russian ambassador twice during that period.
According to CNN, he made the decision in order to “avoid any semblance of a conflict of interest between his new role and previous position as a strong supporter of the Trump campaign.”
However, what he did and didn’t know at the time came under scrutiny Tuesday in what the New York Times described as “highly contentious testimony.”
The Times writes that “in his opening statement, Mr. 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.’”
