Attorney General Jeff Sessions met
Russia's ambassador during the election despite telling his confirmation
he had "no communications with the Russians".
The justice
department confirmed he met Sergei Kislyak in July and September last
year as part of his role on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Mr Sessions said on Thursday he did not meet "with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaign".
Claims of Russian interference in the election have dogged President Trump.
The
US intelligence community believes the alleged Russian hacking of
Democratic organisations was carried out to help Mr Trump defeat
Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Mr Trump's National Security Adviser,
Michael Flynn, was fired last month after he misled the White House
about his conversations with Mr Kislyak, allegedly regarding sanctions
against Moscow.
- Who is Attorney General Jeff Sessions?
The
Democrats have reacted with anger at the latest revelations, saying Mr
Sessions should resign and at the very least step aside from an FBI
probe he is overseeing into the hacking claims.
What is the basis of the latest allegation?
The Washington Post reported
that Mr Sessions and Mr Kislyak held a private conversation in Mr
Sessions's office in September and had spoken earlier in the summer at a
meeting with several other ambassadors.
Mr Sessions had meetings with more than 25 foreign ambassadors in the course of the year.
But
his meetings with Mr Kislyak came while he was a prominent part of Mr
Trump's campaign team - a so-called surrogate - and amid growing reports
of Russian meddling in the US election
.
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