A key Senate committee investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election has asked ousted FBI Director James Comey to testify, according to the committee’s top Democrat.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) told CNBC on Wednesday that Comey, whom President Donald Trump fired on Tuesday, had been asked to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee in their hearing next Tuesday.
It is not clear whether Comey has accepted the invitation, nor has the committee announced whether the hearing will be held publicly. “My hope is that he’ll take advantage of this opportunity,” Warner said.
Sen. Mark Warner says he and Chmn. Burr have invited James Comey to testify before the Senate Intel Committee on Tuesday. — via @MSNBC pic.twitter.com/4zmnh8vQWs
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 10, 2017
Trump’s firing of Comey, who was less than four years into a 10-year term, ignited a bombshell in Washington due to the FBI’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence the American presidential election, which includes probes into ties between Trump campaign associates and Moscow.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, whom the Senate confirmed just two weeks ago, said in a letter to Comey that his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation played heavily in his recommendation that Comey be removed. During Wednesday’s White House press briefing, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had lost confidence in Comey and was considering “letting him go” since the day he was elected.