Grassley says he's preparing subpoenas for FBI officials over Comey firing
By JOSH GERSTEIN and SEUNG MIN KIM
09/20/2017 01:01 PM EDT
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he is preparing subpoenas for two FBI officials about the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and he said negotiations to hear from President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort also have broken off.
Grassley said a final decision on summoning FBI national security division head Carl Ghattas and Comey's former chief of staff James Rybicki would have to await a consultation with the panel's ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.
The Justice Department has resisted requests for the two FBI officials to appear before Congress, saying such an appearance would be unwise without approval from special counsel Robert Mueller. Grassley and Feinstein have insisted Mueller gave their panel the go-ahead to gather evidence and testimony about Comey's dismissal by Trump while he was leading the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.
"We've got subpoenas at the Senate counsel's office," Grassley said. "When we get done there, I'm going to have to consult with Sen. Feinstein."
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/20/subpoena-fbi-agents-james-comey-firing-senate-242935
