Washington, DC- In an interview with Fox News on Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chair Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) indicated he was not open to interviewing former FBI Director James Comey in a public hearing, citing fears that such action may sway public sentiment in favor of the former Director.
“Look, we tried a public hearing before with Peter Strzok, and it didn’t go well. Strzok outflanked us at every turn, resulting in House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) appearing to be a belligerent, partisan hack, and Strzok coming off as intelligent, sensible, and professional,” Goodlatte confessed to Bill Hemmer on Fox News staple frenzy feed “America’s Newsroom.”
“I know Trey, and I can admit that he’s twice the man I’ll ever be. If a peon like Strzok outmaneuvered an experienced prosecutor like Trey, there’s no fucking way I’m going up against his former boss in a public setting. You’ve heard Comey speak, he is the complete opposite of a word salad. The last thing we want is for him to make his case directly to the American people. Clear, concise and articulate answers would severely hinder our ability to spin this thing in our favor. Turning Comey into a martyr would be an absolute nightmare.”
Comey, in the past, has indicated that he would be happy to testify before congress “whenever they’ll have me,” but only if it is in a public setting. The house Judiciary Committee sent Comey a subpoena to testify last week, but the former FBI Director asked a federal judge on Thursday to block that subpoena, citing his willingness to testify in public, and concerns of potential selective leaking of his testimony.
Republican members of the House are attempting to wrap up their investigation into the FBI’s actions and conclusions related to an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server during the 2016 Presidential campaign.
This story is ongoing.