Comey to testify behind closed doors

Former FBI Director James Comey has reached an agreement with Republican lawmakers to testify behind closed doors about investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email server and whether President Donald Trump’s campaign advisers colluded with the Russian government to steer the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.

Republican lawmakers agreed to release a transcript of his testimony in 24 hours and to allow Comey to speak about the meeting publicly, he said on Twitter.

“This is the closest I can get to public testimony,” Comey said.

Comey had been subpoenaed to testify privately Monday before the House Judiciary and House Oversight committees. He asked a federal judge to quash the subpoena and allow him to testify publicly.

The compromise about his testimony was reached a day before a federal court hearing about Comey’s request; a motion to quash the subpoena was withdrawn.

In a statement Sunday, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said: “There was no need to use baseless litigation in an attempt to run out the clock on this Congress, and I am glad that it was withdrawn. Mr. Comey will join us for a closed-door transcribed interview later this week. We will release the transcript of his interview to the public as soon as possible after the interview, in the name of our combined desire for transparency.”