House Republicans are carrying on with their investigation of the FBI’s actions during the 2016 presidential election, despite objections from their Democratic counterparts.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., told reporters Monday night that testimony of a former FBI lawyer involved in the bureau’s counterintelligence investigations into both Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the presidential campaign of President Trump, provided new information and showed a need for more witness depositions and documents from the Justice Department.
Lisa Page gave a closed-door transcribed interview for roughly 6.5 hours to the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees on Monday, after giving a five-hour interview on Friday.
“We may have some follow-up questions for her,” Meadows said. “The potential witness that we’re going to call in are really being prioritized by [House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob] Goodlatte and [House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey] Gowdy.”
But Page was a cooperative witness and will likely never need to testify publicly, Meadows said. But, she opened the door to more.
“There are a number of individuals that I’ve recommended, and they would not be the normal household names. There are a number of key players who can help us understand fully what went on and what didn’t go on during that time leading up to the 2016 election,” Meadows explained.
Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, said he wrote a letter to Goodlatte on Monday requesting he issue a new subpoena for information, including text messages Page sent FBI agent Peter Strzok, and information related to surveillance warrants issued against people associated with the Trump campaign.
Republicans have zeroed in on the texts between Page and Strzok, who were on both FBI investigations while simultaneously having an extramarital affair. The messages contain a slew of anti-Trump sentiments, which Republicans and the president alike have said show bias atop the Justice Department and FBI.
Strzok was grilled by the two committees last week publicly for 11 hours — but partisan politics overshadowed much of the hearing.
“Republicans will continue to do this until well past not only the 2018 election, but the 2020 election. They’re experts at investigating the investigation of the investigators,” House Oversight Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told reporters Monday. “At some point, we’ve got to cut it,” he added, saying what should be Congress’ top priority is how to “protect the vote.”
The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees announced a joint investigation into decisions made by the Justice Department during the 2016 election in late October 2017. The House Intelligence Committee has also been busy investigating, as Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has issued multiple subpoenas for documents from the FBI and Justice Department about the Clinton and Russia inquiries.
Democrats have condemned GOP lawmakers’ demands as being a means to discredit the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller took over the investigation into Russian election interference and the Trump campaign in May 2017.
Meadows also noted that the two committees are still pressing the Justice Department and FBI for documents — though it was not immediately clear what documents are still outstanding.
The Justice Department and FBI complied with all subpoenas from the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, a top department official told the panels’ chairmen earlier this month.
In a letter to Goodlatte and Nunes, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said that the Justice Department and FBI “believe that they have now substantially complied with” the sizable documents requests from the two panels. “[A]ny residual or ongoing production of the materials will be expeditiously completed in coordination with staff members from the appropriate committees,” wrote Boyd in the letter obtained by the Washington Examiner.
Last month, the House passed a resolution demanding demanding the Justice Department hand over a large swath of documents related to the Clinton and Russia investigations — at the same time Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told lawmakers the agencies have been making “unprecedented disclosures” to Congress.
Though the resolution was nonbinding and unenforceable, it represented a significant escalation in a monthslong feud over documents requests stemming from subpoenas from the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, which included an impeachment threat from Meadows.
Meadows said Monday that a resolution of impeachment against Rosenstein is not exactly off the table yet, and is moving forward.
