Jeff Sessions says his comments on Trump video were mischaracterized

Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., says a conservative magazine inaccurately characterized his comments about whether Donald Trump’s 2005 remarks about physical interactions with women would be considered sexual assault.

The Weekly Standard reported Monday morning that Sessions, in an interview in St. Louis after the presidential debate, said that what Trump described — grabbing women in the genital area — would not constitute sexual assault.

“I don't characterize that as sexual assault. I think that's a stretch. I don't know what he meant,” Sessions said, according to a transcript of the interview that the magazine included in its story.

The reporter then asked, “So if you grab a woman by the genitals, that's not sexual assault?”

And Sessions, a former state and federal prosecutor in Alabama, answered, “I don't know. It's not clear that he — how that would occur.”

After the story appeared on Monday, Sessions issued a statement that the “characterization of comments I made” are “completely inaccurate.”

“My hesitation was based solely on confusion of the contents of the 2005 tape and the hypothetical posed by the reporter, which was asked in a chaotic post-debate environment," Sessions said in the prepared statement. "I regret that it resulted in an inaccurate article that misrepresented my views. Of course it is crystal clear that assault is unacceptable. I would never intentionally suggest otherwise."

As of Tuesday afternoon, The Weekly Standard had included Sessions’ response in its story, but the rest was unchanged.

Sessions was the first U.S. senator to endorse Trump, on Feb. 28, and is one of his senior advisers in the campaign.

The Department of Justice defines sexual assault as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.”

In the video from Access Hollywood, Trump is heard describing how he will “just start kissing” women. “I don’t even wait,” he said. And then, “Grab them by the p----y. You can do anything.”

A spokeswoman for Sessions did not respond to a question Tuesday about whether Sessions believes that what Trump described is sexual assault.

Track GOP leaders who don't support Trump

Christie still backs Trump, calls comments 'indefensible'

Ben Carson's explanation of Trump scandal is a real head-scratcher