Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday described as a "mischaracterization" news reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to subpoena documents from the Republican-led House Intelligence Committee and staffers in a meeting earlier this year.
"I'm confident that Deputy Rosenstein, after 28 years in the Department of Justice, did not improperly threaten anyone on that occasion," Sessions told Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
"But we do believe that we have tried to be cooperative with them and made progress in months, as the months have gone by.
"In fact, we have had some good relationships with the members of Congress," he said.
"The FBI director and our senior ethics attorney say that is a mischaracterization, really, of what occurred."
Citing Intelligence Committee emails on a January meeting, Fox reported that Rosenstein threaten to subpoena the committee's documents on the Russia investigation.
Senior FBI and Justice officials, as well as committee members, were in on the meeting.
The panel is chaired by Rep. Devin Nunes of California.
But CNN noted that the Fox report was not true and instead disclosed that Rosenstein had called for an internal investigation of House Intel panel staffers.
Sessions told Carlson that he was not present for the meeting.
"I was not in the room and I cannot speak to what occurred," he said. "All I can say is that the director of the FBI and our senior ethics attorney were there and others — and they did not see that in the same fashion."
He added that the Justice Department has made "dramatic progress" in working with Congress.
"I think it indicates that there has been a breakdown of relationships," Sessions said of the reports, "when, in fact, since January, a great deal of progress has been made.
"We understand in this department that we are accountable to Congress and we need to be cooperative with them.
"To produce as many documents as rationally, legally and properly as we can be producing them.
"We have made dramatic progress in that regard, really."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.