Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley hinted Wednesday that it may be inevitable that his panel investigates President Trump for obstruction of justice as part of its probe into the firing of former FBI Director James Comey.
“I don’t want to say for sure. But I don’t know how you can avoid it,” Grassley said to Politico regarding questions of obstruction of justice in his investigation. “Because the FBI was investigating it before there was a special counsel.”
Grassley, R-Iowa, and ranking member Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., have been planning the parameters of the Judiciary Committee’s investigation into Trump’s firing of Comey. The investigation will also cover potential political interference by the Obama administration Justice Department, Politico reported.
Grassley and Feinstein are among the senators who met with special counsel Robert Mueller on Wednesday to discuss their related investigations.
A Washington Post report last week said Mueller’s probe into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election had expanded to look at whether Trump obstructed justice by telling Comey he hoped the FBI would stop investigating Mike Flynn, the president’s first national security adviser.
Trump then seemed to confirm he is being investigated by Mueller with a tweet about being the target of a “witch hunt,” but the president’s personal attorney has walked back that assertion. A separate report Sunday said that Mueller has not decided whether to investigate Trump as part of its Russia probe.
