House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said Sunday he agrees with former FBI Director James Comey about leaks.
Comey says he will “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.
During an interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Gowdy, R-S.C., said he sympathizes with Comey, but doesn’t believe a public hearing is the right answer.
“I don’t get a chance to say this very often, but I do think Jim Comey is right,” Gowdy said.
“Leaks are counterproductive, whether Jim Comey is doing it, whether FBI is doing it or whether the Congress is doing it. The remedy for leaks is not to have a public hearing where you are supposed to ask 17 months of work in five minutes,” he added, referring to five-minute increments each lawmaker would likely have to ask questions.
.@TGowdySC says @Comey is right: Leaks are counterproductive, whether Jim Comey is doing it, whether F.B.I. is doing it or whether the congress is doing it. The remedy for leaks is not to have a public hearing where you are supposed to ask 17 months of work in five minutes. pic.twitter.com/ekebt68g95
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) November 25, 2018
Instead, Gowdy recommended recording the deposition on video, so the public would have the opportunity to see full questions and answers, without the spectacle a live public event would bring.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., issued subpoenas last week to Comey and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to come before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees for private depositions in December as part of their joint investigation into decisions made by the Justice Department in 2016.
In a Thanksgiving tweet, Comey said he would only agree to public testimony.
“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.”
Gowdy emphasized that it will be up to Goodlatte to decide how Comey would testify.
Both Gowdy and Goodlatte are retiring at the end of their current terms.
