Story highlights Franken said he thought the Attorney General committed perjury 
 
 Sessions has denied wrongdoing 
 
 Washington (CNN) Minnesota Sen. Al Franken said he now believes that Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury during his confirmation hearing when he did not disclose meetings with a Russian ambassador. 
 
 Sessions' response during the hearing to Franken's question about Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign was demonstrably false, Franken said Tuesday on CNN's "The Lead" with Jake Tapper. 
 
 "It's hard to come to any other conclusion than he just perjured himself," the Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary committee said. 
 
 Franken also said that Sessions' response to his contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak coming to light has been insufficient -- Sessions on Monday submitted written responses to the committee, denying that he had answered Franken's question falsely. 
 
 "That's a ridiculous response. It's not a clarification at all," Franken said, adding that he had been waiting for Sessions' letter on Monday before accusing him of lying. 
 
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 Sen. Al Franken Alan (Al) Stuart FrankenThe Hill's 12:30 Report Book tours are testing ground for 2020 race A third of Congress hasn’t held a town hall — it’s time to take action MORE (D-Minn.) said Tuesday he thinks Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) SessionsSessions to make DACA announcement Tuesday Trump to end DACA with 6-month delay: report Trump lawyer to reporter: 'Are you on drugs?' MORE committed perjury during his confirmation hearing. 
 
 “It’s hard to come to any other conclusion than he just perjured himself,” Franken said on CNN’s “The Lead.” 
 
 Franken, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reiterated Democrats' calls for Sessions to appear before the Senate panel "and explain this." 
 
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 The Democratic senator said he was dissatisfied by a letter Sessions sent his committee on Monday explaining why he did not disclose his past talks with Russia’s ambassador. 
 
 “Listen, I’ve been cutting him a lot of slack,” he said of Sessions. "I’ve been refusing to say that he lied. I wanted to wait for this letter to come out.” 
 
 Franken called Sessions's letter "a ridiculous response." 
 
 "It’s not a clarification at all," he said. 
 
 Sessions on Monday defended his decision not to mention his prior talks with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during his confirmation hearing after it was revealed last week that he twice spoke with Kislyak during last year's campaign. 
 
 Sessions was pressed by Franken during his confirmation hearing in January about Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials. At the time, Sessions was an Alabama senator and a high-profile ally of Trump's campaign. 
 
 “I did not mention communications I had had with the Russian ambassador over the years because the question did not ask about them," Sessions insisted Monday. 
 
 “My answer was correct,” Sessions added in a letter to the Judiciary Committee, explaining his testimony under oath. 
 
 Sessions said he “does not recall any discussions with the Russian ambassador, or any other representative of the Russian government, about the campaign.” 
 
 The attorney general said he would sit out any federal investigations into Russia's intervention in the election following bipartisan criticism over his unreported calls with Moscow's ambassador to the U.S. 
 
 Sessions’s recusal reportedly angered Trump, who felt his attorney general did not need to distance himself from probes tied to Russia and his campaign.
– Senate Judiciary Committee member Al Franken thinks Attorney General Jeff Sessions committed perjury during his confirmation hearings—and he wants him to explain himself in another appearance before the committee. With his failure to disclose talks with Russia's ambassador under questioning, "it's hard to come to any other conclusion than he just perjured himself," the Democratic senator tells CNN. Sessions wrote to the committee Monday denying he had answered questions incorrectly, and Franken says the "ridiculous response" is what he was waiting for before accusing the attorney general of lying. Sessions has recused himself from any investigation into alleged Russian election interference. "Senator Franken ... I did not have communications with the Russians, and I'm unable to comment on it," Sessions said during the January confirmation hearing after being asked about possible Trump campaign ties to Russia. "I did not mention communications I had had with the Russian ambassador over the years because the question did not ask about them," Sessions said Monday, per the Hill. In a tense Judiciary Committee exchange Tuesday, Franken rejected Republican Sen. Charles Grassley's accusation that he had asked a "gotcha" question, the Washington Post reports. "Look at the tape," Franken told Grassley.