Comey's Testimony Could Turn Congressional Probes Toward Question of Obstruction

By Ed O'Keefe and Karoun Demirjian, The Washington Post

08 June 17

 

ormer FBI director James B. Comey’s highly anticipated appearance on Capitol Hill Thursday could bring the question of whether President Trump attempted to obstruct justice to the forefront of several wide-ranging congressional investigations.

In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., Comey is likely to be asked about his firing as well as reports that Trump asked him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn. In a preview of his opening statement released by the committee Wednesday afternoon, Comey said Trump said to him during a meeting at the White House in February: “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go. He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

Comey’s testimony comes on the heels of new revelations that Trump also asked two of his top intelligence officials to intervene with Comey to back off its focus on Flynn. In testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee Wednesday, those two officials — Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael S. Rogers — declined to describe private conversations with the president. Instead, they both said they never felt pressure to do anything inappropriate.

A series of such revelations in recent weeks have fueled accusations of obstruction, but at least four congressional inquiries have remained wide-ranging, with some lawmakers expressing greater concern about whether Trump campaign associates colluded with Russian officials to meddle in the 2016 election and others more focused on prosecuting those who have leaked classified information to the media.

In addition to those congressional probes, the FBI is heading up a counterintelligence investigation into collusion and Russia’s interference last year.

Still unknown is whether Comey will offer more details about his conversations with Trump than he already detailed in his opening statement. Additionally, his opening statement does not recount his firing. He will be careful not to discuss classified information, which is likely to prevent him from providing new details about the Russia probe, several associates said.

Comey also will try to steer clear of saying anything that could compromise or constrain the work of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, now heading up the FBI’s investigation, such as offering legal or prosecutorial judgments, these people said.

Comey insisted on testifying publicly, but he will also address the committee behind closed doors following the public forum.

An intensification of the obstruction question could cause the center of gravity to shift on Capitol Hill. Besides the FBI, the House and Senate intelligence panels are exploring Russian meddling and the potential politicization of intelligence gathering. Members of both parties and in both chambers generally agree that the Senate investigation is the most comprehensive and advanced of the congressional probes.

The House and Senate Judiciary committees could become a more central focus after Thursday if Comey’s testimony suggests that Trump’s actions constituted obstruction of justice, as that could potentially shift congressional focus from intelligence matters to legal and criminal matters that those two committees oversee. In addition, House Judiciary is where any discussion of impeachment proceedings would begin.