MILAN (AP) — Italy's premier is testifying behind closed doors to the parliamentary intelligence committee in Rome about a meeting between U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Italian intelligence officials.

Premier Giuseppe Conte said he would be "more free to talk" publicly after meeting Wednesday with the committee, known by its Italian acronym COPASIR.

Media reports have indicated that Conte authorized the contacts — one in August and one in September — in violation of protocol.

Barr reportedly met with Italian government officials as part of an investigation into the origin of a probe into Russian election interference. He traveled in September with the U.S. Attorney John Durham, who is examining what led the U.S. to open a counterintelligence investigation on the Trump campaign and the roles that various countries played in the U.S. probe.