The Justice Department confirmed today that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was questioned by Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigation Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. The meeting took place week and lasted several hours according to a spokeswoman. It is the first known time that Robert Mueller has questioned a member of President Trump’s cabinet.
Attorney General Sessions recused himself from any and all matters relating to the Russia investigation. The recusal came as a result of Sessions telling congressional committees that he had had no interaction with Russian officials during the campaign when he had, in fact, had several. Sessions also believed that recusal was appropriate because the investigation is into a presidential campaign of which he was a part. Sessions was one of the Donald Trump’s earliest supporters.
Sessions’ recusal has been a major bone of contention between he and the president, with Trump lashing out at Sessions over the issue on several occasions. The president has demanded that Sessions resign over the decision. After Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel, Sessions tendered his resignation. After several days, the president rejected it.