Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham revealed that former FBI Director James Comey will testify in his probe of alleged FBI ...
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham revealed that former FBI Director James Comey will testify in his probe of alleged FBI misconduct just weeks before the November elections.
Graham, a Trump loyalist who has been probing the FBI's 'Crossfire Hurricane' investigation that kicked off the Russia probe, announced the development on Fox News host Sean Hannity's program.
'The day of reckoning is upon us when it comes to Crossfire Hurricane,' he said.
Former FBI Director James Comey has agreed to testify in a Senate GOP-run probe of the 'Crossfire Hurricane' investigation that kicked off the Russia probe
Graham said Comey had agreed to come voluntarily, without need for a subpoena. He indicated an ongoing push to bring in former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, like Comey another top target of President Donald Trump's.
'I appreciate Mr. Comey coming before the committee and he will be respectfully treated but asked hard questions. We are negotiating with McCabe; we are hoping to get him without a subpoena -- time will tell,' said Graham.
Graham said Mueller, who like Comey also delivered blockbuster testimony in Congress last year, won't be coming.
'Mueller has declined the invitation to the committee to appear to explain his report,' Graham said. He said Mueller 'says he doesn't have enough time.'
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced Comey's voluntary appearance while speaking on Fox News Wednesday night
Graham's probe comes as President Trump continues to rail against people he says 'spied' on his campaign in 2016
President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), during an Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017
Graham and his Democratic opponent Jamie Harrison are tied 48-48 in a new poll
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller 'says he doesn't have enough time' to appear, said Graham
Graham said the committee has also invited former FBI lawyer and investigator Peter Strzrok, another Trump target, to testify.
Democrats have blasted the probe as a partisan exercise. Trump has continued to fume that the Obama administration 'spied' on his campaign.
Meanwhile, U.S. attorney John Durham continues his probe of alleged FBI misconduct. Last week, a top aide, Nora Dannehy, resigned in what colleagues told the Hartford Courant was a move influenced by pressure to take action before the elections.
Graham made additional cryptic comments on Hannity's show earlier this week, following disclosures that devices belonging to Mueller's team had been wiped before they could be analyzed.
'You think you are mad about the phones being wiped?' Stay tuned. We'll talk in about 10 or 12 days and we'll see if there is something else you can get mad about,' he said.
It is unclear if he may have been referring to Comey's testimony or some other development.
Graham's investigatory push, which could provide fuel for President Trump's attacks on what he calls the 'witch hunt,' may have come at a personal price at home.
A new Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday had Graham tied with his Democratic challenger, Jamie Harrison, 48-48 as he seeks election to a fourth term in a heavily Republican state.
'A victor by almost 16 points back in 2014, Senator Graham stares down the first real test of his Senate tenure. Outspent and accused by some of being a Trump apologist, he is in a precarious tie,' said Quinnipiac University Polling Analyst Tim Malloy.
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