Former FBI Director James Comey is taking some heat after announcing on Thanksgiving that he would “resist” a subpoena to appear for a closed-door deposition with a joint congressional task force for fear of Republicans selectively leaking his testimony to the public.
His critics expressed astonishment at what they said was the hypocrisy of a top law enforcement official who leaked memos he had written of his private conversations with President Trump to the media now complaining about targeted leaks.
“It’s total hypocrisy on the former director’s part. But he doesn’t sense it. Or, maybe he does, and simply doesn’t care to acknowledge b/c it aids his current cause …,” said ex-FBI supervisory special agent James Gagliano, who has been critical of Comey in the past.
Tom Fitton, the president of conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, said “Mr. Comey stole and leaked @RealDonaldTrump’s FBI files in order to, by his own admission, get a special counsel appointed.”
Fitton was reacting to the tweet from Comey on Thursday, which alerted the public to the subpoena.
“Happy Thanksgiving,” Comey tweeted Thursday. “Got a subpoena from House Republicans. I’m still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a ‘closed door’ thing because I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Let’s have a hearing and invite everyone to see.”
Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. I’m still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a “closed door” thing because I’ve seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Let’s have a hearing and invite everyone to see.
— James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018
Comey wrote contemporaneous notes of conversations he had with Trump while he served as FBI director, including one in which he said the president asked for his to pledge his loyalty. Trump has denied asking Comey for loyalty, as well as pressing Comey to go easy on former national security adviser Michael Flynn — something which was also mentioned in the memos.
Last year it was revealed that Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017, sent four memos he wrote to a friend in the hopes he would relay their contents to the media. The Justice Department’s inspector general has since opened an investigation into whether Comey leaked classified information when he sent the memos.
Comey previously declined private testimony, including before the Senate Intelligence Committee last year. “My judgment was, I need to get that out into the public square,” Comey testified to the panel, in an open session that ensued. “I asked a friend of mine to share the content of the memo with a reporter. Didn’t do it myself for a variety of reasons. I asked him to because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., shared on Friday the subpoenas he issued earlier this week to Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to come before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees for private depositions.
The subpoenas compel Comey to appear on Dec. 3 at 10 a.m. and Lynch on Dec. 4 at 10 a.m. So far it is unclear whether Lynch will adhere to her subpoena.
Goodlatte notes that the subpoenas, sent in the final weeks of his chairmanship, are part of the panels’ joint investigation into decisions made by the Justice Department in 2016. GOP lawmakers are investigating potential bias within the FBI and the Justice Department as they investigated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“The committees have repeatedly requested to interview Mr. Comey and Ms. Lynch respectively regarding their roles in certain decisions, but they have yet to voluntarily appear,” the press release form Goodlatte said. “Last year, the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced a joint investigation into decisions made by the Justice Department in 2016. To date, the committees have interviewed many key witnesses and have reviewed thousands of documents.”
Goodlatte, who is retiring at the end of this term, will likely hand off the chairmanship to ranking member Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., as the Democrats take control of the House next year. Nadler has already signaled his intention to investigate President Trump and the Justice Department’s decision to not defend Obamacare in court.
