California Rep. Adam Schiff blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday morning, suggesting that the country’s top law enforcement official deliberately misled senators about his meetings with the Russian ambassador during his January confirmation hearing.

“You don’t, I think, treat a visit in your office by the Russian ambassador as something casual, something not memorable,” the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe. “And when you’re asked about your contacts with Russians in the Senate, that should have been disclosed. I think he knew it should have been disclosed.”

Sessions, then an Alabama senator and surrogate for President Trump, met with Kremlin ambassador Sergei Kislyak twice during the campaign, once during the Republican National Convention in July and two months later in September. He told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not have any contact with the Russians in the course of the election season.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Sessions has maintained that he did not mislead the Senate, asserting that his communications with the envoy had to do with Senate business, not the campaign. Schiff has called that explanation of the discrepancy “not credible,” and demanded along with other Democrats that Sessions resign as attorney general.

The ex-Alabama senator has now recused himself from any investigation into the relationship between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism so that we can be prepared for whatever news 2025 brings.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount