The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fired FBI head OK’d to testify before Senate
House intelligence committee to issue subpoenas.
WASHINGTON — Senators expect former FBI Director James Comey to testify next week about his conversations with President Donald Trump, congressional officials said on Wednesday, setting up a test of the White House’s willingness to cooperate with investigations into Trump’s associates.
Putting the highly anticipated hearing on the calendar would force Trump to decide whether to invoke executive privilege and try to prevent Comey from testifying. Comey is expected to be asked about several conversations he had with the president, including one in which he says Trump encouraged him to stop investigating former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Separately, the House Intelligence Committee issued subpoenas on Wednesday to Flynn and the president’s longtime lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, for documents and their testimony. And in an unusual move, the Republican chairman of the House panel — who has recused himself from leading the investigation — unilaterally issued a series of subpoenas to the intelligence community. The chairman, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is seeking information about how Obama administration officials handled sensitive information about Trump associates.
Comey’s testimony would be the most sensational moment to date in a controversy that has dogged the Trump administration from its beginning. Congress and a Justice Department special counsel are investigating whether Trump’s associates colluded with Russia to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.
A White House spokeswoman had no comment on whether Trump planned to try to block Comey’s testimony. It is a delicate decision with political and legal consequences.
“If they claim executive privilege, politically it gives the appearance that there’s something to hide, which just amplifies all the criticism,” said Mark J. Rozell, a George Mason University professor and the author of a book on the history of executive privilege.
American intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian hackers and propagandists worked to tip the election in Trump’s favor, and investigators want to know whether anyone around Trump helped that effort. Trump has repeatedly denied that anyone did.
Some in Congress have suggested Trump was trying to obstruct the Justice Department investigation by demanding Comey’s loyalty, asking him to drop the inquiry, and then firing him last month after he rebuffed those requests.