Updated

The FBI has put to bed a controversy whipped up by liberal critics of Attorney General Jeff Sessions over his contacts with foreign officials including Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 presidential campaign.

An FBI email released through the Freedom of Information Act said that Sessions had no obligation to reveal any contacts with foreign officials unless he “developed personal relationships” with them.

The bottom line: His two contacts with Kislyak in 2016 did not have to be revealed to the FBI on his SF-86 security clearance application, part of his confirmation process.

Sessions has repeatedly denied that he talked about the campaign with the Russian, but critics have continued to question his decision to not list them on his SF-86, which contains a box to check for contacts.

The email confirms statements from Justice staffers that Sessions did not need to check the foreign contacts box.

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