THE GATEKEEPER
All roads lead to Mueller in Russia probe
As multiple congressional committees widen their Russia investigations, former FBI director Robert Mueller is emerging as the gatekeeper.
In the past week, since Mueller was appointed to oversee a probe into possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and the Russian government, congressional leaders who are also investigating Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections acknowledged the new special counsel will decide their access to critical witnesses and documents.
Senate and House committee leaders are engaged in a delicate dance with Mueller to secure documents and public testimony from James Comey, the former FBI director fired two weeks ago in the midst of managing the Russia inquiry.
This week, Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, canceled a hearing, saying Comey needed to consult with Mueller before offering any public comment.
Thursday, Assistant FBI Director Gregory Brower said Chaffetz’s request for a file of documents Comey kept of his communication with Trump would have to wait. “In light of this development and other considerations,” Brower said in a letter to Chaffetz, citing Mueller’s appointment, “we are undertaking appropriate consultation to ensure all relevant interests implicated by your request are properly evaluated.”
Comey, who maintained de-
tailed records of his communication with Trump, agreed to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee after the Memorial Day holiday, but committee leaders said they are expected to coordinate’ the former director’s public appearance with Mueller. The FBI is reviewing the Intelligence panel’s request for Comey’s memos.
Embattled former national security adviser Michael Flynn rejected a Senate subpoena for records of his communication with Russian officials, which has drawn the scrutiny of the FBI and Congress. Flynn asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
As four congressional panels seek records and witnesses, there’s mounting tension between the interests of lawmakers who urge a public airing of findings — and a prosecutor who has long been wary that any disclosure of evidence could damage a criminal investigation.
“I really view the public portion of our investigation as extremely important,” said California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which leads one of the congressional inquiries.
“If we conduct all of our hearings in closed session, do our work in closed session ... and then we throw open the doors when we’re finished and say, ‘Here’s our report, you should just believe it; take our word for it,’ it’s unlikely to be accepted by the country,” Schiff said.
Schiff said the bulk of Mueller’s work will probably be shrouded in secrecy.
If charges are brought, Mueller “won’t be able to say much beyond the four corners of an indictment,” Schiff said.
Chaffetz insisted his committee “has its own, constitutionally based prerogative to conduct investigations.”
In a separate letter to acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, Chaffetz acknowledged that “the committee in no way wants to impede or interfere with the special counsel’s ability to conduct his investigation. In fact, the committee’s investigation will complement the work of the special counsel.’’
“If we conduct all of our hearings in closed session, do our work in closed session ... and then we throw open the doors when we’re finished and say, ‘Here’s our report, you should just believe it; take our word for it,’ it’s unlikely to be accepted by the country.” Rep. Adam Schiff, D -Calif.
The congressional hearings on Russia featured public testimony from current and former officials — including former acting attorney general Sally Yates, who alerted the White House in January that Flynn had lied to administration officials about his contacts with a Russian ambassador. Yates’ testimony, quickly followed by Comey’s surprise firing, fueled mounting public pressure for the investigations to continue — even as Trump called the Russia inquiry a “hoax” and “witch hunt.”
The White House and Justice Department have been reluctant to provide the congressional committees access to some documents, including any records detailing conversations between Trump and Comey.
In addition to delaying the oversight panel’s request, the administration missed a Senate Judiciary Committee deadline Wednesday to turn over Comey’s memos and any audio recordings of the president’s interactions with him that might be maintained at the White House. Instead, officials requested more time to respond to lawmakers’ demands. In a tweet after Comey’s dismissal, Trump raised the prospect that “tapes” may exist — and the White House has refused to confirm or deny whether the president secretly records his conversations.
The Senate Intelligence Committee announced Thursday that it was accelerating the pace of its work. The panel voted to grant Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat, “blanket authority” to issue subpoenas, rather than seek full committee approval.
Legal analysts expect Mueller will be reluctant to give the goahead on providing Congress evidence that may go public as inquiries move forward.
“If I’m Bob Mueller, I’m telling Jim Comey something he already knows: ‘You aren’t going anywhere until I’m done with you,’ ” said former assistant FBI director Ron Hosko, who headed the bureau’s criminal division.
The primary concern in sending key people to testify publicly, Hosko said, is the risk of a witness’s testimony changing, if only slightly, with each retelling.
“It only gives a halfway decent attorney a chance to pick a case apart based on inconsistent statements,” Hosko said. Prosecutors are averse to providing a preview of their cases beyond what is required in charging documents or pretrial discovery exchanges with defense lawyers, he said.
Jack Sharman, who served as counsel to the House Banking Committee during independent counsel Kenneth Starr’s investigation of President Clinton, said allowing for the release of documents and the public testimony of any potential witness in a criminal investigation “injects a level of complexity” that can be difficult for prosecutors to manage.
“Oral testimony can sometimes be negotiated (between prosecutors and lawmakers for use in a congressional hearing),” Sharman said. “But a document is a document. Once it’s out there, there’s no getting it back.
“My gut tells me that if he testifies in public ... it will be limited.”