By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com
Former FBI Director James Comey has made a deal with Republicans to testify privately before the House Judiciary Committee after threatening to block a subpoena to appear.
The deal comes after Comey’s attorney, David Kelley, contested a House subpoena on the grounds that it was equivalent to “dragging (Comey) into a dark alley” and asked, “What its the purpose of keeping it out of the public eye?” according to the USA Today.
In a deal with House Republicans, Comey agreed to testify as long as a transcript of the interview is released within 24 hours and that the former FBI boss can speak publicly about the testimony.
Comey, who was fired by President Trump in April 2017, said he was primarily concerned that Republicans would selectively use the testimony to try to discredit the Robert Mueller investigation.
The House committee is expected to ask Comey about the FBI’s decision to drop the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and his involvement in the probe into Russian meddling in the presidential election.
“Grateful for a fair hearing from judge,” Comey tweeted on 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.”
