US Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday recused himself from any current or future investigation of possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The announcement followed revelations that then-Sen. Sessions met with the Russian ambassador to the United States on two occasions during last year’s campaign.

“During the course of the last several weeks, I have met with the relevant senior career (Justice) Department officials to discuss whether I should recuse myself from any matters arising from the campaigns for President of the United States,” the attorney general said in a statement.

“Having concluded those meetings today, I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the United States,” Sessions said.

In off-the-cuff comments to reporters just hours earlier, President Donald Trump said he didn’t think that Sessions needed to step back from the matter.

The Washington Post reported this week that the Alabama Republican met with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak on two occasions during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The Justice Department subsequently confirmed that Sessions, a key Trump ally, met with Kislyak in his capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Amid allegations of Russian meddling in the elections, Sessions said in January at a hearing on his nomination to serve as attorney general that he was “not aware” of any communications between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“I have been called a surrogate at a time or two in that campaign, and I didn’t have – did not have communications with the Russians, and I’m unable to comment on it,” he said under questioning by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.).

The disclosure of his meetings with the ambassador brought calls from Democratic lawmakers – and even some Republicans – for Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation of Russia’s ostensible role in the elections.

During a brief session with reporters following his announcement, Sessions sought to reconcile his recusal with the earlier statement from the president.

“They (the president and the White House staff) don’t know the rules, the ethics rules, most people don’t. But when you evaluate the rules I feel like I am – I should not get involved investigating a campaign I had a role in,” the attorney general said.

The recusal applies to “any existing or future investigations” with a bearing on the Trump campaign,” Sessions said.

While acknowledging that he “should have slowed down” and given a more considered response to Franken at the confirmation hearing, Sessions dismissed as “totally false” the notion that he was involved in a “continuing exchange of information” between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

“My reply to the question of Sen. Franken was honest and correct as I understood it at the time,” the attorney general said, adding that he planned to send a written clarification to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, New York’s Chuck Schumer, said earlier Thursday that Sessions should resign and he called for the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation of Russia and the elections.

Both Trump and the Russian government adamantly deny any collusion during the campaign. EFE