Rod Rosenstein And Comey’s Deputy To Testify Before Senate Panel Next Week

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Two top U.S. officials at the center of the ongoing Russia probe will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee next week, a day before former FBI Director James Comey’s highly-anticipated appearance before the panel.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Comey’s former deputy, Andrew McCabe, will testify next Wednesday, the committee announced.

They will join Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence and Adm. Mike Rogers, the director of the National Security Agency, for the hearing, which will review the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, known as FISA.

“The witnesses will provide a comprehensive overview of FISA’s authorities, current oversight mechanisms, and examples of the value this court-authorized collection provides to the United States Intelligence Community,” reads a statement from the committee.

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FISA is at play in the Russia investigation in several ways. In September, the FBI obtained a warrant under the law to conduct surveillance on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser who has done business in Russia.

Page was alleged in an uncorroborated dossier compiled by a former British spy to have communicated with the Kremlin on behalf of the Trump campaign to discuss ways to impact the election. The FBI reportedly cited the dossier in its FISA application.

FISA also received attention after Trump claimed in March that the Obama administration tapped phones in Trump Tower.

No evidence has been presented to back Trump’s claim, though the tweet has led to a national debate over whether members of the Obama administration illegally or unethically ordered the unmasking of the names of Trump associates picked up in communications obtained through FISA. The tweet also spurred the Senate Intelligence Committee and its counterpart in the House to include surveillance and unmasking in their sprawling investigations about Russian election meddling.


Wednesday’s hearing is also likely to delve into other issued related directly and indirectly to the Russia investigation.

Rosenstein, who took office on April 26, is likely to be pressed about his involvement in the decision to fire Comey — an act carried out on May 9.

A letter Rosenstein wrote blasting Comey for his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation was initially cited by the White House as Trump’s rationale for canning Comey.

Trump himself has since undercut that claim, saying that he had long planned to fire Comey. He also reportedly told Russian government officials during an Oval Office meeting that his firing of Comey, who he called a “nut job,” relieved the “great pressure” he faced from the Russia probe.


After coming under fire for his involvement in the Comey fiasco, Rosenstein appointed Comey’s predecessor, Robert Mueller, to serve as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation.

In his hearing, Comey will likely be asked about his firing and about conversations he had with President Trump about the Russia investigation.

Comey associates have said that he will testify that Trump asked him to shut down the FBI investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. Comey is said to have filed memos about his interactions with Trump, which included at least two face-to-face meetings and multiple phone calls.

McCabe has appeared in stories about the investigation. The White House has claimed that McCabe told Trump chief of staff Reince Priebus that reports about potential collusion between the Trump team and Kremlin are “bullshit.”


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