Washington, Jun 9 (IANS): The Justice Department has issued a statement defending Attorney General Jeff Sessions and refuting some of former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony.

The Justice Department contradicted Comey's statement given to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, which suggested that Sessions recused himself on March 2 from an ongoing probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election because he was implicated in a series of facts which could not be made public as it was classified information, reports Efe news.

"We were aware of facts that I can't discuss in an open setting that would make his continued engagement in a Russia-related investigation problematic," Comey said.

"Our judgment, as I recall, was that he was very close to and inevitably going to recuse himself for a variety of reasons," the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director added.

In response, Justice Department spokesperson Ian Prior said in a statement later on Thursday, Sessions stepped away from the investigation on Kremlin because he had actively participated in Donald Trump's presidential campaign, accompanying him to campaign events and advising him on immigration issues.

"Shortly after being sworn in, Attorney General Sessions began consulting with career Department of Justice ethics officials to determine whether he should recuse himself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for President of the US," Prior said.

Due to his participation in Trump's presidential campaign, Sessions decided to recuse himself from the Russian investigation "for that reason, and that reason alone," according to Prior.

However, when Sessions made the decision, the fact that he had had two meetings during the presidential campaign with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, had just come to light.

Sessions did not reveal his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary during his confirmation hearing, an omission which prompted Republican and Democratic lawmakers' to call for Sessions to distance himself from the investigation.

In a speech in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the former FBI's testimony "raises serious questions about Attorney General Sessions that he and the Justice Department must answer immediately."

According to CNN, in a closed session with the senators in the afternoon, Comey revealed that Sessions had a third meeting with the Russian ambassador that was kept secret.

That encounter allegedly also took place during the presidential campaign.

Sessions is due to appear before a Senate subcommittee on June 13, and Democratic lawmakers have already announced that they will take the opportunity to ask him about his contacts with Moscow as well as his role in the Russian FBI investigation.