US Attorney General Jeff Sessions
will testify in public to the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday
on his role in the Russia investigation.
Mr Sessions, who wrote to the Senate Intelligence Committee at the weekend, has asked that the hearing be open.
He will face questions about undeclared meetings with Russian officials and the president's firing of the FBI chief.
Media reports last week said Mr Sessions had offered to resign because of tensions with the president.
Mr Trump was angry that the attorney general had recused himself from the FBI's Russia probe, according to US media.
Tuesday's hearing has been scheduled for 14:30 local time (18:30 GMT).
America's top justice official will be the most senior government
official to testify before the Senate committee, which is looking into
allegations that Russia had tried to meddle in last November's election.
It
is one of several congressional panels that, along with a special
counsel, is also investigating whether any Trump campaign officials
colluded with the alleged Kremlin plot.
The White House has rejected any collusion with Russia, which has denied meddling in the US election.
In
his letter on Saturday, Mr Sessions said: "It is important that I have
an opportunity to address these matters in the appropriate forum."
He
had been due to appear before the Senate and House appropriations
subcommittees on Tuesday, but said his deputy would attend those
hearings instead.
Mr Sessions removed himself in March from involvement in any probe of
alleged Russian election meddling after it emerged he had failed to
disclose a meeting he had last year with Moscow's ambassador.
Democrats
have questioned why, given his recusal, Mr Sessions was involved in the
president's 9 May dismissal of FBI Director James Comey.
"There's
a real question of the propriety of the attorney general participating
in that in any way, shape or form," Democratic Senator Jack Reed told
the Fox News Sunday show.
In testimony last week, Mr Comey suggested Mr Trump had fired him to undermine the Russia inquiry.
Mr Trump had himself attributed his dismissal of Mr Comey to the Russia investigation.
However,
the Republican president has denied trying to impede the probe and said
he would be willing to testify under oath about his interactions with
Mr Comey.
The former FBI director's testimony provoked scorn over the weekend from his former boss, who dismissed him as a coward.
Mr
Trump tweeted on Sunday: "I believe the James Comey leaks will be far
more prevalent than anyone ever thought possible. Totally illegal? Very
'cowardly!'
BBC NEWS
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