Updated 4:10 p.m.: Attorney General Jeff Sessions says he will recuse himself from a federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 White House election.

Following allegations that the U.S. attorney general provided misleading information to a Senate hearing in January about his contacts with Russian officials, Maine lawmakers are calling on him to resign or at least remove himself from the investigation into possible election meddling by Russia.

Taking the toughest stand, U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat, said Thursday that Attorney General Jeff Sessions “lied under oath” and called on him to quit.

“These are serious and troubling accusations,” said U.S. Sen. Angus King, an independent. He said Sessions must address them “immediately and fully – both to Congress and to the American people.”

“I believe the circumstances demand that he come before the Senate Judiciary Committee again to clarify his original remarks, which do not appear to be factual, and to fully explain this inconsistency,” King said.

King said, too, that he has “long said that in order to ensure impartiality and objectivity Attorney General Sessions should recuse himself from any Russia-related investigations, and I continue to believe that is the proper course of action.”

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican, also said Sessions, who’s a friend, “should recuse himself to ensure public confidence in the Justice Department’s investigation” into Russian interference in last year’s presidential election.

“The American People must have confidence in the integrity and impartiality of our Justice Department and their investigations,” Republican U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin said. “If Attorney General Sessions is the subject of an investigation, I believe it would be appropriate for him to recuse himself.”

Collins said as well that Sessions “should also clarify his statements to the Judiciary Committee with respect to his communications with the Russian ambassador.”

Pingree, though, has heard enough about Sessions to reach her own conclusion.

“His clear disregard for the truth demonstrates that he is unfit to lead the nation’s judiciary,” she said in a prepared statement. “As the nation’s top attorney, Jeff Sessions should be held to the highest standards and know that lying under oath constitutes perjury.”

White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed similar calls Thursday as “the latest attack against the Trump administration by partisan Democrats.”

Among the Democratic leaders who have called for Sessions to go are Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

After The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal reported late Wednesday that Sessions had twice met with Russia’s ambassador to the United States during last year’s campaign, many Democrats had sharp words for the former U.S. senator from Alabama who was an early backer of President Donald Trump.

Pingree, who represents the 1st District, said there must be “an independent, bipartisan investigation into Russian interference with our election.”

Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, one of Trump’s first appointments, was forced out last month after news reports that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with the same ambassador who met with Sessions, Sergey Kislyak.

“Since Michael Flynn’s resignation, my office has heard from thousands of Mainers who feel anxious, angry and afraid of the Trump administration’s lack of transparency and hostility toward answering questions about his connections to Russia. Enough is enough. When the U.S. attorney general perjures himself before he’s even served a day, it’s time for an outsider to investigate,” Pingree said.

Sessions told senators in January that he “did not have communications with the Russians” during the 2016 campaign. But he now admits he met with the Russian ambassador twice, including one private session in his office.

Sessions issued a statement Thursday saying that he never discussed issues of the campaign with Russian officials, calling the allegations “false.”

The White House also issued a statement saying “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.”

In this Feb. 28, 2017, photo, Attorney General Jeff Sessions pauses while speaking at the National Association of Attorneys General annual winter meeting in Washington. Sessions had two conversations with the Russian ambassador to the United States during the presidential campaign. The Justice Department said March 1 that the two conversations took place last year when Sessions was a senator. 

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