Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., tried to keep Thursday’s hearing on global threats to U.S. national security focused on a broad range of issues, and not just the status of ongoing investigations into Russia’s meddling in the U.S. election in the wake of President Trump’s decision to fire former FBI Director James Comey.
“I understand that many people tuned in today are hopeful we’ll focus solely on the Russian investigation of their involvement in our elections. Let me disappoint everybody up front,” Burr said in his opening statement. “While the committee certainly views Russian intervention in our elections as a significant threat, the purpose of today’s hearing is to review and highlight to the extent possible the ranges of threats that we face as a nation.”
Burr likely anticipated Democratic efforts to focus on the Comey firing, especially since Comey was replaced at the hearing by acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
When Burr turned the meeting over to the Vice-Chair of the Committee, Democrat Mark Warner of Virgina, Warner went straight to the Comey firing as expected, and repeated the Democratic push for a special counsel to handle the probe. Democrats have said Trump’s move against Comey means an independent prosecutor is needed more than ever to ensure Trump doesn’t choose a new FBI director who is more favorable to his point of view in the Russia probe.
“This week’s remarkable developments make our committee’s investigation into Russia’s influence on the 2016 U.S. presidential election even more important,” Warner said. “And while it is clear to me now more than ever, that an independent special counsel must be appointed, make no mistake: Our committee will get the bottom of what happened during the 2016 presidential election.”
Today’s hearing was more of a routine event when it was planned, but it generated renewed interest when it was announced that McCabe would attend instead of Comey. McCabe has been the acting director for less than two days after President Trump’s abrupt firing of Jim Comey on Tuesday.
