FILE- In this Sept. 6, 2013, file photo, Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. speaks with reporters at the Center for the National Interest in Washington. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE- In this Sept. 6, 2013, file photo, Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. speaks with reporters at the Center for the National Interest in Washington. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had two conversations with Kislyak during the presidential campaign season last year, contact likely to... (Associated Press) 
 
 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on Attorney General Jeff Sessions' talks with the Soviet ambassador (all times local): 
 
 10:58 a.m. 
 
 A growing number of Republicans want Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the election and ties to the Trump campaign. 
 
 Ohio Sen. Rob Portman says in a statement that Sessions is a former colleague and a friend, "but I think it would be best for him and for the country to recuse himself from the DOJ Russia probe." 
 
 Portman joins congressmen Jason Chaffetz, Darrell Issa and Tom Cole in calling for Sessions to recuse himself, 
 
 Other Senate Republicans are rallying around Sessions, saying they trust him and that it's up to Sessions whether to recuse himself. 
 
 Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. He says, "I trust Jeff Sessions to make that decision." 
 
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 10:33 a.m. 
 
 Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren joins other Democrats in calling for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign. She says there should be an independent special prosecutor named to oversee an investigation of Russian interference in the U.S. election. 
 
 Warren has clashed repeatedly with President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. The Massachusetts senator reacted in a series of tweets to reports that Sessions talked twice with Russia's ambassador during the presidential campaign, conversations that seem to contradict sworn statements Sessions gave to Congress during his confirmation hearings. 
 
 The White House says Sessions met with the diplomat in his capacity as a then-U.S. senator, not a Trump campaign adviser. 
 
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 10:25 a.m. 
 
 Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to resign. 
 
 Several Republicans and Democrats have called for Sessions to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election following the revelation he talked twice with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign. 
 
 The conversations seem to contradict sworn statements Sessions gave to Congress during his confirmation hearings. 
 
 Schumer says a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the allegations of Russian interference and also look into whether the investigation has already been compromised by Sessions. 
 
 House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has accused Sessions of "lying under oath" and demanded that he resign. 
 
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 10:25 a.m. 
 
 Another congressional Republican says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from any investigation into Russia meddling in the election and links to the Trump campaign. 
 
 In a statement, congressman Darrell Issa of California joined House Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz in calling on Sessions to recuse himself now. 
 
 Issa says, "We need a clear-eyed view of what the Russians actually did so that all Americans can have faith in our institutions." 
 
 It is members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who typically meet with foreign ambassadors, not Armed Services Committee lawmakers whose responsibility is oversight of the military and the Pentagon. Congressional contact with Russian officials was limited after the invasion of Crimea and due to Moscow's close relationship with Syria, a pariah for much of the West. 
 
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 9:15 a.m. 
 
 A Republican committee chairman says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election. 
 
 Utah's Jason Chaffetz chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He tells MSNBC that Sessions "is going to need to recuse himself at this point." 
 
 The Justice Department has confirmed Sessions talked twice with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign, a seeming contradiction to sworn statements he gave to Congress. 
 
 Chaffetz told MSNBC that Sessions "should further clarify." 
 
 Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri called on Sessions to resign, and Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont said he should recuse himself. 
 
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 8:30 a.m. 
 
 A Democratic senator says Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step aside from any role in the Justice Department's investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia. 
 
 Minnesota's Al Franken tells MSNBC's "Morning Joe" that Sessions' statements about his contacts with Moscow have been "contradictory." 
 
 At Session's confirmation hearing in January, Franken asked the then-Alabama senator what he would do if there was evidence that anyone from the Trump campaign had been in touch with the Russian government during the 2016 White House race. 
 
 Sessions replied he was "unaware of those activities." But the Justice Department has confirmed that Sessions had two conversations with Russia's ambassador to the United States. 
 
 Franken is calling for an "independent prosecutor" to investigate any links the Trump campaign may have had with the Russian government and says Sessions must "come forward with the truth." 
 
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 8:15 a.m. 
 
 A Kremlin spokesman says all the attention given to Jeff Sessions' meetings with Russia's U.S. ambassador during the U.S. presidential campaign last year could affect improved ties between the countries. 
 
 Sessions — who's now President Donald Trump's attorney general — was a senator and policy adviser to Trump's campaign at the time of the meetings with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak. 
 
 Dmitry Peskov is the spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Peskov tells reporters that he didn't know about the meetings. But he says it's normal for Russian diplomats to meet with U.S. lawmakers. 
 
 The White House says Sessions met with the diplomat in his capacity as a senator, rather than as a Trump campaign adviser. 
 
 Peskov is characterizing reaction to the news of the meetings as "an emotional atmosphere (that) leads to resistance to the idea of some kind of U.S.-Russia dialogue." 
 
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 7:10 a.m. 
 
 A White House spokeswoman is assailing reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions twice talked to Russia's ambassador to the United States during last year's presidential campaign. 
 
 Sarah Huckabee Sanders called the reports "the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats." 
 
 She says Sessions "met with the ambassador in an official capacity as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which is entirely consistent with his testimony" to the Senate Judiciary Committee at a confirmation hearing in January. 
 
 Referring to questions on this issue that Sen. Al Franken raised with Sessions at that hearing, she said, "It's no surprise Senator Al Franken is pushing this story immediately following President Trump's successful address to the nation." 
 
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 7:00 a.m. 
 
 A prominent Russian lawmaker close to the Kremlin is playing down the revelation that the Attorney General Jeff Sessions met twice with Russia's ambassador during the American presidential campaign. 
 
 The news that then-Sen. Jeff Sessions, who was a policy adviser to President Donald Trump's campaign, had discussions with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak has added fuel to the controversy over whether Russia was improperly involved with Trump's campaign. It spurred calls in Congress for Sessions to recuse himself from an investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election. 
 
 Alexei Pushkov, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament and former head of the lower chamber's foreign affairs committee, said Thursday on Twitter: "It turns out that almost the entire US elite has ties to Russia ... Paranoia knows no bounds." 
 
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 2:37 a.m. 
 
 Attorney General Jeff Sessions talked twice with Russia's ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign season, communications that spurred calls in Congress for him to recuse himself from a Justice Department investigation into Russian interference in the U.S. election. 
 
 Sessions, an early supporter of President Donald Trump and a policy adviser to the Republican candidate, did not disclose those discussions at his confirmation hearing in January when asked what he would do if "anyone affiliated" with the campaign had been in contact with officials of the Russian government. 
 
 Sessions replied that he had not had communication with the Russians. 
 
 Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Wednesday night that "there was absolutely nothing misleading about his answer." 
 
 Sessions said, "I never met with any Russian officials to discuss issues of the campaign. I have no idea what this allegation is about. It is false." ||||| Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsSenators call for DOJ to stop blocking medical marijuana research Hatch: Those advising Trump to fire Mueller going against 'nation's best interest' Gingrich compares FBI raid of Trump lawyer to Nazi secret police MORE said early Thursday that he would be willing to recuse himself from any investigation of Russian involvement in President Trump's campaign if it's "appropriate." 
 
 "I have said whenever it's appropriate, I will recuse myself," he told NBC News. "There's no doubt about that." 
 
 In @NBCNews exclusive video AG Sessions says he will recuse himself from Russia investigation whenever appropriate: pic.twitter.com/wKajg9MUJj — Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) March 2, 2017 
 
 Reports emerged late Wednesday that Sessions spoke twice with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 presidential race. 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.” 
 
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 Sessions defended himself during his comments with NBC News, saying he didn't discuss the presidential campaign with Russian officials. 
 
 “Well, I have not met with any Russians at any time to discuss any political campaigns,” he said. "Those remarks are unbelievable to me and are false. I don’t have anything else to say about that.” 
 
 Sessions's latest comments come as more GOP lawmakers say he might have to recuse himself from any investigation involving Russia and the Trump campaign at the Justice Department. 
 
 On Thursday morning, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) suggested it would be "easier" if Sessions recused himself from any Russia-related investigations that might come up. 
 
 "I don't have all the information in front of me, I don't want to pre-judge, but I just think for any investigation going forward, you want to make sure everybody trusts the investigation," McCarthy said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." 
 
 "That there's no doubt within the investigation. ... I think it would be easier from that standpoint, yes." 
 
 The FBI is said to be investigating contact between Russian officials and members of the Trump campaign, though there has yet to be any formal charges brought. Committees in the House and Senate are pursuing their own investigations. 
 
 Sen. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamSchumer: Mueller protection bill would pass by 'very large majority' Hatch: Those advising Trump to fire Mueller going against 'nation's best interest' Graham uses Fox News appearance to ask Trump not to fire Mueller MORE (R-S.C.) on Wednesday said that if the FBI finds any criminal activity related to campaign aides' alleged contact with Russian officials, then a special prosecutor will likely be needed. 
 
 Rep. Sean Duffy Sean Patrick DuffyMarch for Our Lives to leave empty seats for lawmakers at town halls GOP lawmaker: 'Of course' Dems will impeach Trump if they take control of House Longtime manager of Bon Iver to run for Congress in Wisconsin: report MORE (R-Wis.), meantime, said he wished Sessions had been "more clear" during the confirmation process about his meetings. 
 
 "It gives me some pause that he wasn't more clear about the meeting," Duffy said Thursday morning on CNN's "New Day." 
 
 "I think as he's going through the campaign with Mr. Trump though, he was acting in his official capacity as a senator, you want to disclose that information and I think it should have been more clear during his confirmation process that he did have the meetings." 
 
 Sessions, a former Republican senator from Alabama, reportedly spoke with Kislyak during a July Heritage Foundation event at the Republican National Convention attended by about 50 ambassadors. 
 
 A Department of Justice official told The Washington Post Kislyak was among a group of diplomats who approached Sessions and spoke with him informally there. 
 
 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. 
 
 Reports emerged last month that top aides and allies of Trump’s White House run were in recurring contact with senior Russian intelligence officials. 
 
 Democrats seized on news about Sessions speaking with Kislyak, arguing Sessions must recuse himself from any federal investigation into contact between Russia and Trump’s team. 
 
 Sen. Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann WarrenWarren: Mulvaney is 'hurting real people to score cheap political points' Overnight Finance: Mulvaney asks Congress to retake power over consumer agency | Backs House in fight over Dodd-Frank rollback | Why Corker thinks tax cuts could be one of his 'worst votes' ever | House panel advances IRS reform bills Mulvaney urges Congress to strip agency's powers MORE (D-Mass.) called for Sessions to resign following the news. 
 
 "This is not normal. This is not fake news," Warren tweeted. "This is a very real & serious threat to the national security of the United States." 
 
 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also called for Sessions's resignation, saying Sessions is "not fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer of our country." 
 
 Trump has repeatedly dismissed the reports of Russia contacts as "fake news" and suggested the real issue is leaks of information from the intelligence community. 
 
 Yet scrutiny of the issue continues to build, particularly after Michael Flynn resigned last month as national security adviser for misleading Vice President Pence about his own phone conversations with Kislyak after the election. 
 
 This report was updated at 9:54 a.m. ||||| Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerGOP must lose the filibuster to win the political war Amy Schumer cancels interview with Sinclair-owned station Trump continues to put Americans first by adding citizenship question to census MORE (N.Y.) said Thursday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsSenate braces for showdown over Trump’s nominees Fight over sanctuary cities is also a fight over federalism Trump meets with Pruitt amid growing calls for resignation MORE should resign and be investigated by the Department of Justice’s inspector general to determine whether he compromised an investigation into Russian influence. 
 
 “There cannot be even a scintilla of doubt about the impartiality and fairness of the attorney general, the top law enforcement official of the land,” Schumer told reporters at a news conference. “It’s clear Attorney General Sessions does not meet that test. Because the Department of Justice should be above reproach, for the good of the country, Attorney General Sessions should resign.” 
 
 Schumer, who for weeks has called for Sessions to recuse himself from the Justice Department’s investigation of contacts between Trump campaign officials and Russian intelligence agents, stepped up his demands after The Washington Post reported Wednesday night that Sessions misled Congress about meeting with the Russian ambassador. 
 
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 Schumer said there was nothing wrong with Sessions meeting with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, but he transgressed by failing to tell lawmakers about it during his confirmation hearing earlier this year. 
 
 “If there was nothing wrong, why didn’t you come clean and tell the whole truth?” Schumer asked. 
 
 Schumer argued that Sessions had weeks to set the record straight after testifying before the Judiciary Committee, but let it stand. 
 
 Sessions told Minnesota Sen. Al Franken Alan (Al) Stuart FrankenPawlenty to announce bid for Minnesota governor Al Franken: Sessions firing McCabe ‘is hypocrisy at its worst’ McCabe oversaw criminal probe into Sessions over testimony on Russian contacts: report MORE (D) that he did not have “any communications with the Russians” when asked if he knew of anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign having contact with the Russian government. 
 
 Schumer said it’s hard to believe that Sessions simply failed to remember the meeting because he would have been thoroughly briefed before the hearing and would have known the question about contacts with Russia was likely to come up. 
 
 Asked if he thought Sessions perjured himself before Congress, Schumer said he would leave that question to the experts. 
 
 “It was definitely extremely misleading to say the least about what he did,” he said. 
 
 Schumer said the Justice Department should appoint a special prosecutor and that, given questions about Sessions’s impartiality, the decision should be made by Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente, a career civil servant. 
 
 He said the special prosecutor should be an individual of great experience who is beyond reproach and has no significant ties to either party. 
 
 If the department refuses to appoint a special prosecutor, Schumer said Democrats will urge Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate braces for showdown over Trump’s nominees Maxine Waters: Republicans 'intimidated' by Trump GOP worries Blankenship surge will cost party W. Va. Senate seat MORE (R-Ky.) and Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanTrump sends mixed signals on Syria amid calls for action Ryan: ‘Responsible nations’ can’t tolerate chemical attack in Syria House GOP super PAC contacts more than 300K voters in midterm push MORE (R-Wis.) to pass a new version of the independent counsel law, which would give a three-judge panel authority to appoint an independent counsel. 
 
 The law was put on the books after the Watergate scandal in which President Nixon ordered the dismissal of special prosecutor Archibald Cox. 
 
 Schumer said the Justice Department’s inspector general “must immediately begin an investigation into the attorney general’s involvement” in the investigation to determine whether he has interfered or tried to derail it to protect himself or President Trump. 
 
 He noted the inspector general can act without additional authority from within the department or elsewhere in the administration. 
 
 An investigation into Sessions could review whether he disclosed meetings with Kislyak during his FBI background check or attempted to manage the work of career department officials looking into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. 
 
 --This report was updated at 11:19 a.m.
– More Democrats are calling for the resignation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions over a Washington Post report that he didn't reveal during his confirmation hearing he'd met with Russia's ambassador to the US while Election 2016 was in full swing. The latest to climb aboard the resignation bandwagon: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who said at a Thursday presser Sessions should step down "for the good of the country" and that the DOJ's inspector general should look into Sessions' actions to remove "even a scintilla of doubt about the impartiality and fairness of the attorney general" in the investigation into Russia's influence on the presidential election, per the Hill. It wasn't Sessions' meetings with Sergey Kislyak that necessarily posed a problem, Schumer said, but the fact that he didn't disclose them during his confirmation hearing. Republicans aren't calling for Sessions' resignation just yet, but per the AP, some are now agreeing with what Schumer and other Democrats have been saying for weeks: that Sessions should recuse himself from the DOJ investigation and let an independent special prosecutor handle it. "You want to make sure everybody trusts the investigation," House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Thursday's Morning Joe, per the Hill, noting Sessions' recusal would make everything "easier." Sessions told NBC Thursday morning he'd be willing to step away from the probe "whenever it's appropriate" and that accusations that he talked about anything campaign-related with the Russians are "unbelievable" and "false."