Sessions should have fessed up to Russian meetings sooner

Despite the ubiquity of the word these days, Attorney General Jeff Sessions hasn't been proven a liar. A close reading of what Sessions said, what he was asked, and what he did leaves open the possibility that his denials about Russian liaisons were accurate in a narrow sense.

But "accurate in a narrow sense" is another way of saying "incomplete." Sessions should have been far more forthcoming when asked about contacts with Russia.

Briefly, here are the relevant facts: Sessions spoke during the Republican National Convention to a few dozen ambassadors whom the Heritage Foundation had brought to Cleveland. Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak was in the group and was in a small group of ambassadors who spoke with Sessions after the event. It was a "very brief" conversation, Sessions said in his press conference Thursday.

Sessions and Kislyak met in Sessions' Senate office Sept. 8. The administration has said it's possible politics came up because, as NBC's John Harwood quoted one administration official: "Ambassadors would often make superficial comments about election-related news. [N]ot substance of discussion."

Sessions said Thursday afternoon the meeting covered issues like Crimea and got "testy" at times.