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Sessions Calls Russian Collusion Suggestions "Detestable"

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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - The investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential election rolls on a day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions answered tough questions on Capitol Hill.

"I have never met with or had any conversation with any Russians or any foreign officials concerning any type of interference with any campaign or election in the United States," Sessions told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

During the two and half hours of testimony, Sessions insisted that he has not had any inappropriate contact with Russia or interfered with the investigation.

"I recused myself from any investigation into the campaign for president, but I did not recuse myself from defending my honor against scurrilous and false accusations," Sessions testified.

Members of the Senate committee grilled Sessions about what former FBI Director James Comey insinuated during his testimony last week.

"Mister Comey said there were matters with the recusal that were problematic and he couldn't talk about them. What are they? Why don't you tell me," asked Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR.

"There are none, Senator Wyden," replied Sessions, "This is a secret innuendo being leaked out there about me and I don't appreciate it!"

When the focus briefly turned to talks that President Donald Trump is considering firing special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who's leading the Russian investigation, Sessions insisted he would have no role in his dismissal.

"I wouldn't think that would be appropriate for me to do," said Sessions.

The White House said late Tuesday night President Trump has no intention of letting go of Mueller even though the president "has the right to".

Depending on who you ask, Sessions' testimony was either very informative or just a bunch of stonewalling.

"We learned a lot more about his version of the February 14th meeting, which Dir. Comey characterized one way and General Sessions had a different recollection of it," said Florida Senator Marco Rubio.

Sessions and Comey's testimony, and the so-called "cloud hanging over the White House," all go back to suspected Russian meddling in the presidential election.

CBS News has learned that it was far worse than the American public knew and that certain states, including Florida, were specifically targeted.

Florida election officials say they are not aware of any Russian hacking attempts despite a source telling CBS News that "massive alarms" were going off.

Late Tuesday night, they issued a statement which said there was no indication that there was any unauthorized access to databases. The statement stated that because Florida vote on paper first, votes can be verified if there are any concerns about inaccurate computer results.

"Florida's online election databases and voting systems remained secure in 2016. The state has multiple safeguards in place to protect against elections fraud and prevent any possible hacking attempts from being successful."

On Wednesday, President Trump will try to turn the attention to jobs as he gets set to make what's being called a "major policy speech" at the Department of Labor.

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