House, Senate demand Comey break his silence

WASHINGTON—Congressional Republicans are sick of allegations against President Donald Trump regarding Russia and fired FBI Director James Comey, declaring Wednesday it’s time to get the facts.

“We can’t deal with speculation and innuendo, and there’s clearly a lot of politics being played,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Wednesday. “What I told our members just this morning: We need the facts.”

Ryan and other Republicans are struggling with how to respond to a New York Times report claiming Trump asked Comey to drop the FBI inquiry into fired National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s Russian connections. Comey reportedly documented Trump’s request in a detailed memo. Democrats are using the news to drum up support for appointing an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate. But Republican leaders want two things first: a copy of Comey’s memo and the opportunity to question him.

According to the Times, Comey wrote a contemporaneous note to himself after a private discussion with Trump on Feb. 14—one day after the president fired Flynn for lying to Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Russian officials. The memo purportedly says Trump called Flynn a good guy and told Comey the FBI should stop investigating him: “I hope you can let this go.”

Hours after the Times published its story, House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, wrote a letter to the FBI demanding it turn over all memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings of discussions between Trump and Comey.

If the memo exists, Chaffetz tweeted, the Oversight Committee will get a copy: “I need to see it sooner rather than later. I have my subpoena pen ready.” The committee will hold a hearing on the matter May 24 and has asked Comey to testify.

The new allegation that Trump attempted to intervene directly with an ongoing FBI investigation comes just a day after the furor over a Washington Post report claiming Trump improperly disclosed classified information to Russian officials during an Oval Office meeting.

The FBI has been investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential elections since last July, and both the House and Senate intelligence committees have probes well underway. But on Wednesday, House Democrats introduced a discharge petition to form an independent commission on the matter.

Reps. Justin Amash, R-Mich., and Walter Jones, R-N.C., joined Democrats to make the request. After a morning GOP conference meeting, Amash told reporters if the memo is legitimate, it could be grounds for impeachment.

“But everybody gets a fair trial in this country,” he added.

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., said Wednesday it’s still far too soon to begin talking about impeaching the president. But Democrats clearly want more information, and Crowley insisted an independent commission is the way to go.

The White House released a statement following the Times report denying Trump ever asked Comey or anyone else in the FBI to stop any investigation. While Trump has not responded directly to the new accusation, he reiterated a recurring defense during his commencement speech Wednesday at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.

“Look at the way I’ve been treated lately, especially by the media,” Trump told graduates. “No politician in history—and I say this with great surety—has been treated worse or more unfairly.”

Most Republicans have not embraced the idea of an independent commission, but they agree on one thing at least: It’s time for Comey to testify.

“I’ve asked Comey to come before the Judiciary Committee to tell his side of the story,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters. “I think it would be good for him if he did. It would be good for the country.”

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, agreed it’s time for Comey to tell Congress what really happened: “[Because] right now the stories are getting ahead of the facts.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and ranking member Mark Warner, D-Va., sent a letter to Comey asking him to testify during a public hearing as well as meet with members in a closed-door briefing.

“I hope he’ll accept our invitation. I believe he will,” Warner told reporters.