Maybe he was there representing them.

The C.I.A. is an independent Agency involved in covert activities to secure intelligence important to the security of the United States.

Its past history involved overthrowing Dictators, running drugs(Air America during Vietnam), and more. Having Mike Pompeo present signals a departure from normal protocols of agency independence. Not good.

It's independent only in the vague sense of not reporting to one of the Secretaries of X in the Cabinet. On the other hand the Director of National Intelligence is also a Cabinet member.

If that strategy requires a bit of CIA misdirection or covert action, so much the better.

Not that intervention works for senility. But it worked when Nixon was facing obstruction of justice charges. Republicans went to the White House and explained that hew was going to be impeached. If that was the topic, the reason Sessions wasn't there is because he will one of those indicted.

"You heard it here first. There will be calls for a criminal investigation, and probably an actual F.B.I. investigation, of the Democratic nominee for President in 2020. Doesn't matter who it is."

We need to work toward erasing the Repukes from existence.

Toobin in summary: "Assholes"

Trump is trying hard to get rid of Sessions, which makes it all but certain Sessions will turn on him to save his lil elfin ass.

Sessions has lied under oath,more than once, made a very poor showing of his Congressional hearings, and will have any other charges Mueller deems fit.
His only chance to avoid jail time will be to rat out Trump.

there is zero scenario of Sessions coming thru the investigations intact. If he resigns, in an abortive attempt to avoid Mueller time, he has nothing to fall back on, his Senate seat belongs a Dem now.
He really has no future in politics any longer.

Sessions is in deep trouble, and he'll turn on trump and his crew in a heartbeat to save himself, and trump probably is pretty scared of him, and what he'll do. There's too many willing to turn on trump to save themselves. He'll threaten Sessions, like he'll threaten Flynn, Manifort when he flips, and many others, like he's trying to do to Hillary, and Comey, and Mueller, and Steele. He'll have one of his lackey's bring up phony claims and charges against them.

Invisible and non-existent in Trumpland.