Former FBI Director James Comey will not testify before the Senate intelligence committee next week, according to the panel’s vice chairman, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia.
“We just heard from the director that he’s not able to make Tuesday,” Warner told CNN’s Manu Raju. “It’s my hope that that we will be able to find a time. I think it’s really important that the Congress, and more broadly the American people, hear Director Comey’s side of the story.”
Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, was invited to speak before the committee in a closed session. The former official was in charge of the bureau’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The Virginia Democrat told MSNBC earlier Friday that Comey would not appear next week.
The intelligence committee issued a subpoena this week to former national security adviser Michael Flynn for documents regarding his interactions with Russian officials.
Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe testified in front of the committee on Thursday.
During his testimony, McCabe contradicted the White House’s assertion that the President “and the rest of the FBI” had lost confidence in Comey.
“The majority, the vast majority of FBI employees enjoyed a deep, positive connection to director Comey,” he said, adding that the former director had “broad support within the FBI and still does to this day.”
Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates — who was fired by Trump after she refused to defend his travel ban — and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper also testified in front of a Senate subcommittee on crime and terrorism on Monday.
“Boy it’s been quite a week,” Warner said.
