Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) defended Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Sunday for his undisclosed meetings with the Russian ambassador to the U.S., telling CNN host Jake Tapper that he and other senators "literally meet with dozens of ambassadors" every year.
The Washington Post first reported Wednesday night that Sessions met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak twice last year during the presidential campaign as a senator on the Armed Services Committee. Sessions did not disclose the meetings during his confirmation hearing to become attorney general and has come under fire from Democratic lawmakers.
"Why do you think senior officials in the Trump administration keep failing to be forthcoming about their communications with the Russians?" Tapper asked on CNN's "State of the Union."
Rubio said that he does know who some of the other Trump officials met with, but he defended Sessions, noting that senators frequently meet with ambassadors.
"I can tell you about Sen. Sessions and I can tell you about ambassadors. That's what ambassadors do," Rubio said. "I mean I meet with dozens of ambassadors a year and I run into them all of the time."
Rubio said that it was "problematic" how Sessions answered the question about whether he met with Russian officials at his confirmation hearing. But Rubio also defended Sessions, saying he does not think the attorney general intentionally tried to mislead Congress.
"We've gotten to the point of hysteria here. Ambassadors try to meet with people all the time. I mean I literally meet with dozens of ambassadors and so do most senators, especially those on committees that touch upon foreign affairs and foreign relations," Rubio said.
Sessions has maintained he did not discuss any campaign-related topics with the Russian ambassador. His spokeswoman, Sarah Isgur Flores, said this week there was nothing "misleading about his answer" to Congress because he "was asked during the [confirmation] hearing about communications between Russia and the Trump campaign–not about meetings he took as a senator and a member of the Armed Services Committee."