Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) defended Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday amid reports that he spoke with the Russian ambassador during the presidential campaign.
“I trust Jeff Sessions,” Burr told reporters when asked about calls for the former GOP senator to recuse himself from an investigation into potential contacts between Trump officials and Moscow.
Asked if he believed Sessions should recuse himself, Burr said, “That’s up to Jeff Sessions.”
Sessions has come under fire after a Washington Post report Wednesday that said the former Alabama Republican senator spoke with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential campaign, then denied any meetings under oath during his confirmation hearing.
Sessions opened the door on Thursday morning to recusing himself, telling NBC that he would do so “whenever it’s ;appropriate.”
Burr, in a separate statement, appeared to reference Sessions’s comments, saying Sessions would know if, or when, he needs to step back from the probe.
“The attorney general has said he would recuse himself when needed, and I trust him to make what he feels is the appropriate decision as to his involvement in any investigation into Russian active measures and the 2016 election,” he said.
{mosads}Burr’s support for the attorney general comes as top Democrats, and some Republicans, are calling on Sessions to recuse himself from any investigation.
Though Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said Thursday that he believed Sessions should recuse himself, many of his GOP colleagues either declined to comment on Thursday or offered their support for the former senator.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of the Intelligence Committee and GOP leadership, said in a statement that it would be “very normal for Sessions, as a senator, to have talked to the Russian ambassador without discussing the election.”
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, declined to comment directly on the reports but added: “I can’t imagine Jeff Sessions ever knowingly not telling the truth.”
The former GOP Alabama senator reportedly spoke with Kislyak during a July Heritage Foundation event at the Republican National Convention attended by about 50 ambassadors.
Sessions also spoke with Kislyak via phone in September, according to a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
The conversation took place during a time when U.S. intelligence officials assert that Russia was interfering in the 2016 race through a hacking and influence campaign intended to help sway the election for President Trump.
Sessions did not disclose those conversations during his confirmation hearings for attorney general, testifying under oath that he “did not have communications with the Russians.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee is also running its own probe into Russia’s meddling in the U.S. presidential election and any ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow.
Burr predicted on Thursday that the investigation wouldn’t be affected by Wednesday’s news.
“I think the committee should do its job,” he told reporters. “That’s what we’re going to do.”