Al Franken: Sessions needs to return before Senate committee and explain his Russian connections
Appearing on ABC's This Week, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) said Attorney General Jeff Sessions needs to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee again and fully explain his background with Russian contacts while under oath.
Speaking with host Martha Raddatz, Franken made the point that he has not yet called for Sessions to resign, saying he wants to give him "the benefit of the doubt."
During his confirmation hearing, Sessions told the committee, while being questioned by Franken, that he had not had any contact with the Russians while serving as an advocate for President Donald Trump's campaign.
After it was revealed that Sessions had met privately with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice during the 2016 presidential campaign, lawmakers called for Sessions to recuse himself from all investigations into connections between Trump administration officials and Russian operatives.
According to Franken, while he called for Sessions to recuse himself, he is not at the point where we wants the Attorney General to resign.,
“I would like to give him some benefit of the doubt. He needs to come back before the committee and explain this,” Franken told the ABC host. "I don’t want to go there and definitively say we should be prosecuting the attorney general. But I think the attorney general owes it to the Judiciary Committee to come back and explain himself."
After initial resistance, Sessions agreed to -- a decision that reportedly angered President Trump who was not informed prior to the announcement.
On Friday, Sessions said he would respond to Senator's questions submitted to him in writing.
Watch the Franken's interview via ABC below:
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