The Russian interference issue becomes more complicated every day. 

On Tuesday, the United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions started to testify publicly to the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into the Trump campaign ties to Russia.

In an angry tone, Sessions angrily denied the suggestion that he colluded with Russians during the 2016 election, as reported in The NY Times.  He dubbed the allegations an “appalling and detestable lie.” 

But during the hearing, he declined to answer central questions about his or President Trump’s conduct.

The attorney general’s testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee comes less than a week after former FBI Director James Comey testified that he was fired by President Trump because of his role in the Russia investigation. 

Last March, Sessions announced he recused himself from the Russian investigation due to his own meetings with Russian officials while he served as a foreign-policy adviser to the Trump campaign. (specifically: some meetings with the Russian ambassador in Washington that he failed to disclose earlier). 

He said his two meetings with Russian Ambassador Kislyak in July 2016, when he was still Alabama senator and the Republican convention was about to begin, "had been routine", as reported in The Guardian.  Sessions then admitted he raised the issue of Ukraine with the ambassador, but could not recall mention of Syria or Russian interference in the US election.

At the same time, Senate leaders said yesterday they had reached an agreement to impose new sanctions against Russia, a decision that would put the White House in an uncomfortable position, as reported in The NY Times.