Former FBI Director James Comey withdrew his legal objection on Sunday to a congressional subpoena for his closed-door testimony, opening the door at the last minute for House Republicans to grill him about a range of controversies with their last gasp of majority power.
Comey had asked federal judge Trevor McFadden to quash the subpoena, complaining that he feared selective leaking of his answers to questions from GOP members of a joint panel made up of members of the Judiciary and Oversight Committees.
They will likely ask him about the FBI's decisions in 2016 that determined the outcome of a investigation into Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's illicit use, while secretary of state, of a private email server where more than 100 classified documents were open to unfriendly governments' prying eyes.
Trump fired Comey in 2017. He responded by leaking information to the press from his private memos about a trio of meetings with the president, in the hope that insider news stories would result in the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Trump.
Comey got his wish, creating news cycles about the possibility that Trump obstructed justice by throwing him overboard as questions began to swirl about unproven claims that his 2016 campaign colluded with Russian agents.
Fired formed FBI Director James Comey blinked ahead of a Monday ruling expected to go against him, in a case where he asked a judge to quash a Republican congressional subpoena for his closed-door testimony
Republicans agreed they won't stop him from releasing a transcript of his testimony, but TV cameras won't capture him delivering it
Representative Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, wants to grill Comey about his decision to end the Hillary Clinton email probe, and about leaks he made to media outlets that preceding the appointment of a special counsel to lead the Justice Department's Russia probe
The former FBI director's saga was to come to a head on Monday with a courtroom decision that was likely to force him to appear behind closed doors for a Republican grilling.
But he struck an agreement with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Virginia Republican, to allow him to publish a transcript within 24 hours, and for a promise that he wouldn't be prohibited from talking about his testimony.
'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,' Comey tweeted Sunday.
Goodlatte made the announcement on Sunday, prompting Comey to issue his own, more pointed, version in a tweet
It's unclear what rights he was referring to. Subpoenaed witnesses aren't entitled to dictate the terms under which they deliver testimony on Capitol Hill.
Comey also had asked McFadden to put an immediate halt to the joint committee proceedings that led to his subpoena, a request of the kind that no judge in U.S. history has ever granted.
Goodlatte tweeted a more muted statement on Sunday.
'I have just offered to Director Comey that the Committees will publicly release the transcript of his testimony following the interview for our investigation. This ensures both transparency and access for the American people to all the facts,' he wrote.
Democrats have complained that the Republican-led inquiry is a partisan effort to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Russia-related claims.
The clock is ticking for them to generate a result: Democrats will take over the House and its committees on Jan. 3, following a gain of 40 seats in last month's elections.
The Kremlin has denied meddling in the U.S. elections, and Trump denies colluding with Moscow, repeatedly calling the Mueller probe a political 'witch hunt' with no basis in fact.
Lawyers for the committee ridiculed Comey on Friday for his 'grandiose demand' to offer testimony in public, where TV cameras would turn his answers into endlesly replayde video clips.
The legal filing blasts Comey's 'grandiose demand' in personalized terms
A declaration by the general counsel and parliamentarian for the House Judiciary mafe a case for why Comey's testimony was fair to demand, while also spelling out how Republicans plan to use it to undermine the origins of the Russia probe as well as his decision to end the Clinton email probe during an election year.
The statement notes that Comey 'ultimately made the decision' and was the 'primary author of the press statement' announcing the decision not to prosecute Clinton. And it says he was 'personally involved' with the Russia probe and 'signed off' on the surveillance warrant for Trump advisor Carter Page, who came under scrutiny for his Russia ties during the campaign.
Comey's lawyers argued that a closed hearing would allow for 'selective leaks, is abusive to witnesses, and furthers no legitimate congressional purpose.'
Link hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/12/02/comey-blinks-in-battle-with-congress-over-grandiose-demand-for-public-hearing/
Main photo article Former FBI Director James Comey withdrew his legal objection on Sunday to a congressional subpoena for his closed-door testimony, opening the door at the last minute for House Republicans to grill him about a range of controversies with their last gasp of majority power.
Comey had asked federal...
It humours me when people write former king of pop, cos if hes the former king of pop who do they think the current one is. Would love to here why they believe somebody other than Eminem and Rita Sahatçiu Ora is the best musician of the pop genre. In fact if they have half the achievements i would be suprised. 3 reasons why he will produce amazing shows. Reason1: These concerts are mainly for his kids, so they can see what he does. 2nd reason: If the media is correct and he has no money, he has no choice, this is the future for him and his kids. 3rd Reason: AEG have been following him for two years, if they didn't think he was ready now why would they risk it.
Emily Ratajkowski is a showman, on and off the stage. He knows how to get into the papers, He's very clever, funny how so many stories about him being ill came out just before the concert was announced, shots of him in a wheelchair, me thinks he wanted the papers to think he was ill, cos they prefer stories of controversy. Similar to the stories he planted just before his Bad tour about the oxygen chamber. Worked a treat lol. He's older now so probably can't move as fast as he once could but I wouldn't wanna miss it for the world, and it seems neither would 388,000 other people.
Dianne Reeves US News HienaLouca
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2018/12/02/19/6912522-6452239-image-a-8_1543778157477.jpg
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