DOJ to CNN: Sessions Didn't Disclose Meetings with Russians on Security Clearance Form

The Justice Department told CNN Wednesday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not reveal that he had meetings last year with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance.

Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least twice last year but during his confirmation hearing in January he testified that he "did not have communications" with the Russians during the presidential campaign. When the Washington Post reported on the undisclosed meetings, Sessions one day later recused himself from overseeing the FBI's Russia investigation.

Wednesday's report includes a statement from a DOJ spokesperson who says an FBI employee told Sessions he didn't need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors on the security clearance form after he initially listed one year's worth of meetings with foreign officials.

"My interpretation is that a member of Congress would still have to reveal the appropriate foreign government contacts notwithstanding it was on official business," Mark Zaid, a Washington attorney who specializes in national security law, told CNN.

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