House Republicans Planning To Subpoena James Comey

Republicans won’t be in charge of the House much longer, so they’re squeezing in everything they can. The first order of business? Subpoena James Comey and Loretta Lynch.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., has notified colleagues that he will subpoena Comey for a closed-door deposition Nov. 29 and Lynch for Dec. 5, according to a person familiar with the subpoenas. The person declined to be identified because the person was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

The subpoenas are part of an investigation by two GOP-led committees into decisions made by the department during the 2016 election, when Democrat Hillary Clinton was cleared in a probe into her email use and Justice officials launched an investigation into Trump’s campaign and Russia. Both Comey and Lynch were in power during that time.

Comey has expressed his willingness to comply, but he only wants to do so in a public setting.

House Republicans can ask me anything they want but I want the American people to watch, so let’s have a public hearing. Truth is best served by transparency. Let me know when is convenient.

— James Comey (@Comey) November 16, 2018

That SOUNDS like the “transparent” thing to do, but in this case it’s not. If the hearing is in public, then Comey would essentially get away with refusing to answer questions due to the existence of classified information. I can see it now. “Sorry. I can’t answer that. It’s classified.”

We’re not stupid, Comey. Try again.