After he announced that he would recuse himself from any probe related to the Trump campaign, Attorney General Jeff Sessions appeared on Fox News Thursday evening, where he lamented the amount of attention paid to his two encounters with the Russian ambassador during the 2016 campaign.
Fox News’ Tucker Carlson asked Sessions if he felt the coverage of his meetings amounted to a “witch hunt,” as President Donald Trump has suggested.
“I do not think what was said about that meeting I had with the Russian ambassador was legitimate,” Sessions replied. “I think it was hyped beyond reason, and I think it was unfair.”
Earlier in the interview, Carlson also asked Sessions why he did not amend his statement to the Senate about his encounters with Russian officials when Michael Flynn resigned as national security adviser over his failure to disclose conversations with a Russian official.
Sessions said he “never gave that a thought” and argued that they were “different situations.”
The attorney general also told Fox News that he and his staff had been moving toward a decision to recuse himself from matters related to the Trump campaign before the news broke about his meetings with the Russian ambassador. He added that he recused himself to avoid the perception that he was not objective.
When asked if he had any other contact with the Russian ambassador, perhaps over the phone, Sessions said he did not “remember whether I had a phone conversation with him or not.” Sessions’ staff later called into the show to confirm that he did not speak with the ambassador over the phone during the campaign.
Watch the interview via Fox News:
