Will Sessions be wearing his good white robes?

Sessions to testify in open hearing before Senate Intelligence Committee

By SEUNG MIN KIM and KYLE CHENEY

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will testify in an open hearing Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee on his role in the unfolding Russia investigation, according to congressional and Justice Department officials.

Sessions informed Congress over the weekend that he will appear before the intelligence committee, rather than before previously scheduled hearings regarding funding for the Justice Department.

DOJ and Senate officials did not initially indicate over the weekend whether Sessions' appearance would be public or private. The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

The attorney general is facing increased scrutiny from lawmakers after former FBI Director James Comey testified last week that he knew details about Sessions before his recusal from the Russia probe that would make his involvement in the investigation “problematic.”

The DOJ said in a statement, "The Attorney General has requested that this hearing be public. He believes it is important for the American people to hear the truth directly from him and looks forward to answering the committee's questions tomorrow."

Over the weekend, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a member of the committee, urged for an open session.

Comey's testimony "allowed me to ask the former director about the attorney general's actions before and after his recusal, whether the attorney general's role in firing Comey violated that recusal, and whether the attorney general knew about the concerns related to former national security adviser Michael Flynn," Wyden wrote to committee leaders on Sunday.

Wyden added, "The American people also deserve to hear the attorney general's answers to these questions, as well as others related to his meetings with the Russians and his failure to disclose those meetings to the Senate Judiciary Committee."

Sessions recused himself March 2 from the Justice Department's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. His senior role in Trump’s presidential campaign — and the revelation earlier this year that he failed to disclose meetings with the Russian ambassador during his confirmation hearings — led to his decision to step aside from any federal probes involving the Trump campaign.

But testimony last week from Comey thrust Sessions again into the spotlight. Comey said he alerted Sessions to what he felt was inappropriate pressure from Trump on investigatory matters. Comey also said he wasn’t sure whether Sessions played a role in Trump’s decision to abruptly fire him on May 9.

“I think it is a reasonable question," Comey testified last week. "If, as the president said, I was fired because of the Russia investigation, why was the attorney general involved in that chain? I don't know. So I don't have an answer for the question."