WASHINGTON -- Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Thursday that if Attorney General Jeff Sessions lied under oath during his confirmation hearings, he has to resign.

In an interview with the BBC, Klobuchar said she initially believed Sessions when he said in his confirmation hearings that he had no contact with Russians during the presidential campaign last year. But she is now asking that Sessions to come back before the committee to "get to the bottom of the facts."

"If he lied, then he must resign," she said. "There are many things, even beyond Jeff Sessions, that I want to hear from him. Did someone from the campaign tell him to meet with the Russians? Did he report back to the campaign afterwards? What was the substance of those discussions?"

Earlier in the day, Klobuchar pointed out that Sessions' meeting with the Russians took place only three days after President Obama implemented new sanctions on Russia after all 17 of the nation's intelligence agencies concluded the country hacked email servers in hopes of influencing the election last year.

"The timing certainly smells," Klobuchar said. "I believe we need to get to the bottom of that and the only way is by him coming back immediately before the committee."