Former FBI Director James Comey will testify behind closed doors on Friday before the House Judiciary Committee at the request of Republican lawmakers, his lawyers said, after ending a legal fight to quash their subpoena.
Comey had sued to block the summons last week, contending that the sealed testimony would be leaked and distorted by Republicans for political purposes.
Early on Sunday, two days after Comey’s attorney conceded in court that no federal trial judge had ever batted down a House subpoena, the former Federal Bureau of Investigations chief — who was fired by President Donald Trump in 2017 — withdrew his request.
A lawyer for the Judiciary panel had offered to make a transcript of the testimony public within 24 hours. In a tweet on Sunday, Comey indicated he’d accepted those terms. “This is the closest I can get to public testimony,” he said. Soon after, Comey’s lawyers withdrew their request to quash the subpoena.
Grateful for a fair hearing from judge. Hard to protect my rights without being in contempt, which I don’t believe in. So will sit in the dark, but Republicans agree I’m free to talk when done and transcript released in 24 hours. This is the closest I can get to public testimony.
— James Comey (@Comey) December 2, 2018
Comey is expected to be asked about actions taken by the FBI in 2016, including a decision not to recommend criminal charges against Democrat Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server, as well as the FBI’s probe into potential coordination between Russia and Trump’s campaign.
Comey demanded via Twitter Nov. 22 that House Republicans let the American people watch his testimony. He is free to discuss his testimony, which is now voluntary, his lawyer said.
The hearing may be one of the final significant actions of the Republican-lead Judiciary panel under current chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia. In the new Congress, Democrats take the majority in the House and Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York is likely to be the new chairman.