Former FBI Director James Comey announced Sunday he has dropped his legal challenge to House Republicans’ efforts to compel him to testify in a closed-door setting about the political bias and mismanagement they say permeated the Hillary Clinton and Trump campaign probes under his watch.
Citing a history of congressional leaks creating a “corrosive narrative,” Comey’s lawyers had resisted the GOP’s subpoena and insisted on a public hearing. They said in court documents Republicans’ demand for closed-door testimony “exceeds a proper legislative purpose, is issued in violation of House rules, and unduly prejudices and harasses the witness.”
But Comey, who is expected to testify Monday, relented after House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., agreed on Nov. 28 that the former FBI head’s remarks would be made public in their entirety.
“Grateful for a fair hearing from judge,” Comey wrote on Twitter Sunday. “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.”
