Second Senate panel to invite Comey to testify

Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday that the panel will invite former FBI Director James Comey to testify in the wake of his firing, following a similar invitation from the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) — who oversee a Judiciary subcommittee investigating Russia’s interference in the presidential election — told reporters that Comey would be asked to appear before the full committee.

“I don’t care if he appears before the Intel Committee … [but] from a jurisdiction point of view, anything dealing with the FBI and crimes should come before our committee,” Graham told reporters.

{mosads}Graham said that he’s already “informally” invited Comey to appear before his subcommittee. The South Carolina Republican added that he, Whitehouse and Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will send a joint letter inviting Comey before the full Judiciary Committee.

Whitehouse also told reporters that Grassley would issue an invitation to Comey to testify before the committee.

Graham and Whitehouse’s comments come after Feinstein told reporters that she and Grassley had “spoken” about an invitation to the former FBI director.

“We’ve discussed it, and I know he’s thinking about it,” she said.

A spokesman for Grassley didn’t immediately respond to request for comment.

The Senate Intelligence Committee had already requested that Comey testify after he turned down their invitation for a closed session.

Lawmakers are hoping Comey will be able to provide clarity on his firing, the investigation into Russia’s election meddling and allegations that Trump pressured him to end the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.