Jeff Sessions to testify in open session before Senate Intelligence Committee
Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify in open session at 2:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday regarding the investigations of Russian election meddling, the Senate Intelligence Committee announced Monday.
Jeff Sessions requested that his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee be open to the public, according to the Associated Press. He is expected to be asked about questions raised by last week's testimony from James Comey.
The president attacked the fired FBI director again Sunday tweeting, "I believe the James Comey leaks will be far more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal -- very cowardly."
Following Comey's testimony last week, both Democratic and GOP senators were interested in knowing why Sessions was involved in the FBI director's firing, reports CBS News' Nancy Cordes.
Democrats pushed to hold an open hearing for Sessions' testimony, but Republicans wanted the hearing closed.
On "Face the Nation" Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer ran through the questions he wants answered by the attorney general.
"Did he interfere with the Russian investigation before he recused himself? The president said Comey was fired because of Russia. How does that fit in with his recusal?" Schumer said.
Sessions was originally scheduled to testify before the Judiciary Committee Tuesday about the DOJ budget, but over the weekend, he announced he would appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee instead, when it became clear that senators would be focusing on his role in Comey's firing, rather than his department's budget.
Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation over three months ago, after admitting he had not disclosed two meetings with the Russian ambassador in 2016.
When Comey testified last week, however, he suggested to senators that there might be more to Sessions' recusal.
"We also were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic," Comey said.
Some Republicans now are arguing that Sessions isn't the first attorney general to inject politics in an investigation, pointing to testimony last week that Loretta Lynch urged Comey to call the probe into Clinton's e-mail practice a "matter" rather than "investigation." Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said that request made her "queasy."
