Charles Krupa / APFormer FBI Director James Comey pauses while addressing a gathering in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Feb. 24, 2020. (Charles Krupa / AP)
In less than two weeks, the long-awaited grilling of former FBI Director James Comey will take place, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham said Wednesday.
The South Carolina Republican made the announcement regarding Comey’s Sept. 30 appearance during an interview Wednesday on the Fox News show “Hannity.”
In 2016, the Obama-era FBI launched its Crossfire Hurricane to determine if the Trump campaign colluded and coordinated with Russia.
The investigation ultimately led to the probe of former special counsel Robert Mueller, which determined there was no collusion.
Since then, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has found that the Crossfire Hurricane probe was riddled with misconduct.
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“The day of reckoning is upon us when it comes to Crossfire Hurricane,” Graham said on “Hannity.”
“James Comey has agreed to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on September the 30th, without a subpoena. I appreciate Mr. Comey coming before the committee,” he added.
“He will be respectfully treated, but asked hard questions.”
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Graham said others, including former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, could appear before the committee as well.
“We’re negotiating with McCabe, Mr. McCabe. We’re hoping to get him without a subpoena, time will tell,” he said.
“Mueller has declined the invitation of the committee to appear to explain his report after the Horowitz report. He says he doesn’t have enough time.”
During the segment, Hannity asked if Graham would accept the rejection from Mueller, and mockingly referred to the allegation that Mueller probe members unintentionally “wiped” their phones.
“It sounds fishy as hell,” Graham said. “We’re going to ask the people who did the erasing, but I’m going to ask the Department of Justice and the inspector general to look at this.”
Graham said the hearing is part of his commitment to help the American people understand the full scope and depth of the investigation into Trump’s campaign.
“We’re getting to the bottom of what happened,” he said.
“We’ve invited Strzok to come — he’s selling a book,” Graham said, referring to former FBI agent Peter Strzok, who played a lead role in the probe and whose anti-Trump biases later came to light. “We will see if Mr. Strzok will come without a subpoena.
“But I look forward to this hearing, I think it will be important to the American people.”
In an August Fox interview, Graham said having Comey appear was essential because “everybody is throwing Comey under the bus,” RealClearPolitics reported.
He said Obama-era Justice Department officials were “running away from Crossfire Hurricane. They’re dumping it all on Comey.”
“Eventually, I’m going to call Comey in and ask him, how could you keep signing warrant applications against Carter Page in April and June of 2017, when your agency knew in January and March of 2017 the dossier was a bunch of garbage?” Graham said, referring to a dossier of discredited claims about Trump that many within the FBI knew was likely full of false information when it was used to secure permission for surveillance of Page.
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