Sessions says he did not have third meeting with Russian ambassador

Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he did not have third meeting with the Russian ambassador to the United States.

His impassioned response came after Senate Democrats raised questions about whether Sessions privately met with Sergey Kislyak at an April 2016 foreign policy event at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington. Sessions says he was there for a speech by then-candidate Donald Trump and members of Sessions’ staff were also in attendance.

WATCH LIVE: Sessions testifies about Russia meetings in Senate hearing

He says the suggestion he was “aware of any collusion with the Russian government to hurt this country which I have served for 35 years, or to undermine the integrity of our democratic process, is an appalling and detestable lie.”

Sessions adds that he has no knowledge of “any such conversations by anyone connected to the Trump campaign.”

Read Jeff Sessions’ prepared Senate testimony on Russia

But he says he does not recall any private meetings or conversations with Russian officials at that event.

Sessions in March stepped aside from the federal investigation into contacts between Russia and the presidential campaign after acknowledging that he had met twice last year with Kislyak.