A lobbyist for Russian energy firm Gazprom, who is also linked to President Donald Trump, questioned Attorney General Jeff Sessions' st made when he testified on Tuesday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Richard Burt referred to the claim by Sessions that he never met with Russian lobbyists during the 2016 campaign period.

Burt, who served as the US Ambassador to Germany during President Ronald Reagan's term, said he attended two events last year with Sessions and other ex-GOP officials.

He said it is in public records that he is a lobbyist, although Burt said he was not sure if Sessions was aware he was lobbying for Gazprom. Since Burt advised Trump on his speech, he had contact with Sessions personally, The Guardian points out.

Russian ambassador’s presence

The lobbyist said he advised Trump, who was the Republican candidate at that time, on his first major foreign policy speech. The real estate billionaire delivered the speech at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington in April 2016. Sessions and Russian Ambassador to Washington Sergey Kislyak were both at the event, The New York Daily News reports.

Sessions had a meeting with the ambassador, but he insisted it was in his capacity as a Senator, not as part of the Trump campaign. He did not disclose the meeting when he applied for a security clearance when the Senate was deliberating in January on his appointment as AG. As a result, Sessions had to recuse himself from the Russian investigation led by the FBI.

Second meeting with Kislyak

At his Tuesday testimony, Sessions said he could not recall meeting or talking to Kislyak or other Russian officials at the event. He, however, did not discount the possibility that he had a meeting although he could not recall. The Center for the National Interest, a think tank based in Washington and where Burt is a member of the board of directors, hosted the event where Trump delivered his speech.

It was the third meeting between Kislyak and the AG that Sessions initially denied ever happened.

The Guardian did not discount the possibility that Sessions may not be fully aware of Burt’s lobbying work, but his Russian connection is known in Washington. Burt, as the managing director of the Europe and Eurasia practice at McLarty Associates, served as a lobbyist for the New European Pipeline AG which is behind Nord Stream III. Gazprom used to own half of Nord Stream III but recently acquired the energy company 100 percent.