Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Monday that he’s spoken with former FBI Director James B. Comey since the firing and encouraged him to testify before the House Oversight Committee.
“I did have a conversation with him,” Mr. Chaffetz said on Fox News. “I encouraged him to come testify before the Oversight [and] Government Reform Committee. He’s taking, I think, the path of least resistance going to Senate Intelligence. I hope they pepper him with tough questions.”
Mr. Chaffetz also said he asked Mr. Comey specifically about the notes he reportedly took on his meetings with President Trump, but Mr. Comey would not comment.
“No, I asked him very specifically, I said where are those notes? Are they at the Department of Justice? Are they at your home? And he said he would not comment on that. He would not talk about it at all,” Mr. Chaffetz said.
The Utah Republican also said the involvement of special counsel Robert Mueller into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia could make it harder for the congressional investigations to get answers because their access to certain documents may be limited.
“It’s hard to do this hearing without seeing the documents. And so there’s this new question with Mueller involved: Is the Department of Justice going to share those documents? But you have former Director Comey and the acting director, both have said there have been no impediments, no political influence, so it’s pretty hard for them to come back now and say, well there was political influence by the president when they testified before under oath saying there hadn’t been,” the congressman said.
Mr. Chaffetz plans to step down from his congressional seat later this month due to family reasons, but he has not said yet what he intends to do after resigning.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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