Committees clamor for Comey’s testimony

Former FBI Director James Comey is a wanted man on Capitol Hill.

Three separate congressional committees are now vying to score Comey’s first testimony since his firing by President Trump last week. If he agrees to appear, the testimony could easily become the most dramatic congressional hearing since former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 11-hour grilling from the House Select Committee on Benghazi in 2015.

The Senate Intelligence Committee announced Wednesday that it has issued a formal invitation to the fired director to testify both publicly and behind closed doors.

Later that evening, Senate Judiciary ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced that she and Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) had issued a similar invitation. 

Across the Capitol, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) tweeted that he has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday and is attempting — so far unsuccessfully — to contact Comey to extend an invitation for testimony.

{mosads}While most expect that Comey will appear before one of the committees soon, he declined an earlier invitation to testify before the Senate Intelligence panel behind closed doors, though that was reportedly because he preferred to appear publicly.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence panel, said Wednesday that there is a “high expectation” for Comey to testify.

The Department of Justice threw a curveball into the mix late Wednesday with the announcement that former FBI Director Robert Mueller had been appointed special counsel on the Russia investigation, taking it over from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

It is unclear whether Mueller’s appointment will affect a potential appearance by Comey.

The calls for Comey’s testimony escalated dramatically late Tuesday after reports emerged that he had penned a memo documenting a request from Trump to “let go” of the bureau’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The report also suggested that Comey wrote multiple memos about his interactions with Trump. 

The bombshell claim roiled Capitol Hill, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressing concerns that the conversation — if it took place as described by The New York Times — could amount to obstruction of justice.

“To refuse to testify to Congress would be difficult because they’re the only ones who can pursue the obstruction of justice charge against the president,” said Mieke Eoyang, a former House Intelligence Committee staffer who is now vice president of the national security program at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, referring to the House’s authority to initiate impeachment proceedings.

The memos themselves are also is hot demand. All three committees have issued requests for the documents, with Chaffetz warning, “I have my subpoena pen ready.”

The Trump administration can in theory claim executive privilege over the memos, though such a step could prove politically perilous, given the nature of the accusations against the president.

In his capacity as a government official, Comey would have been expected to give priority to the committees of jurisdiction, Judiciary and Intelligence. As a private citizen, absent a subpoena, Comey has more discretion. 

If he accepts more than one of the invitations, the order of the appearance will partially depend on scheduling.

Comey has rarely shied away from the spotlight before — a trait that has at times rankled both parties. Trump criticized Comey of being a “showboat” last week when explaining his decision to fire him, while Democrats slammed him last year for his decision to publicly rebuke Clinton for her handling of classified information.

But even if Comey’s public persona has at times prompted criticism, he’s also shown an uncanny ability over the years to deliver congressional testimony with maximum impact. 

In 2007, he captivated Washington with his account of racing to the bedside of former Attorney General John Ashcroft to stop the renewal of a controversial surveillance program he believed to be illegal. More recently, he stunned the Capitol by publicly revealing the FBI’s investigation of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

But Comey’s next appearance on Capitol Hill could be the most dramatic yet — and the most consequential.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday called for Comey to testify before the Senate “as soon as possible in public to respond to the issues that have been raised in recent days,” but did not specify a committee.

“I don’t care if he appears before the Intel Committee … [but] from a jurisdiction point of view, anything dealing with the FBI and crimes should come before our committee,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told reporters Wednesday.  

Graham oversees a Judiciary subcommittee that is also investigating Russia’s interference in the presidential election. 

The FBI, which is part of the intelligence community but is also under the umbrella of the Justice Department, is often pulled between the Intelligence and Judiciary committees.

In the House, the Oversight Committee appears to be the only interested party. The House Intelligence Committee, before whom Comey disclosed the Russia investigation in a public appearance in March, has so far been silent. 

The House Judiciary Committee, which has fiercely defended its jurisdiction over the bureau in the past, has also kept quiet. 

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has said legislators “need the facts” but stopped short of calling Comey to testify. Ryan told GOP members behind closed doors on Wednesday that they should let the investigation in the Oversight Committee play out, according to a member who was present.

“We should take our oversight responsibilities seriously regardless of who is in power. That means before leaping to judgment we get all the facts. [Oversight and Government Reform] has requested documents. And we’ll see where the facts lead,” Ryan said, according to the Republican lawmaker.  

The Speaker was responsible for placing the investigation solely under the purview of the Intelligence panel initially.

A spokeswoman for Ryan has indicated support for Chaffetz’s investigation.

But Comey has apparently not acknowledged the chair’s committee notice. Chaffetz has been “unable to connect” with Comey, a committee aide said Wednesday.

One member of the House Oversight Committee downplayed the possibility of a turf war over Comey but said that the committee needed to see all of the memos — including notes taken after meetings with former senior Obama administration officials.  

“If his memos are so credible, we need to see them all. Why this memo and why was it leaked? Did he think this was obstruction of justice? If so, why didn’t he just say so?” the member said. 

It remains to be seen whether any of the various committees that have requested Comey’s appearance will issue subpoenas if he declines to testify. The Senate Intelligence panel only last week issued its first subpoena in the probe into Russian interference, which went to Flynn. 

“If he doesn’t want to do it voluntarily, I think this is serious enough that they would issue subpoenas for this,” Eoyang said.

— Scott Wong contributed.