U.S. lawmakers to press intel chiefs on
Russia ahead of Comey hearing
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[June 07, 2017]
By Patricia Zengerle and Dustin Volz
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Top U.S.
intelligence officials will face questions on the Federal Bureau of
Investigation's probe into Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S. election
and fallout from the firing of former FBI director James Comey when they
appear at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's open hearing will feature
officials closely tied to President Donald Trump's abrupt firing last
month of Comey, which sparked accusations that the Republican president
had dismissed him to hinder the FBI probe and stifle questions about
possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the second-ranking official at
the Department of Justice who signed a letter recommending Comey's
dismissal, will testify, a day ahead of Comey's own hotly anticipated
testimony in the investigation of Russian involvement in the 2016 U.S.
election.
Rosenstein's public testimony will be the first since he appointed - in
the face of rising pressure from Congress - former FBI Director Robert
Mueller as special counsel investigating possible links between Russia
and the election.
Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who took over after Comey was fired,
will also be at the hearing.
The probe has hung over Trump's presidency since he took office in
January and threatens to overwhelm his policy priorities.
The Kremlin denies U.S. intelligence agencies' conclusion that Moscow
tried to tilt the election campaign in Trump's favor, including by
hacking into the emails of senior Democrats. Trump has denied any
collusion.
"I know that there are going to be members who want to hear from Deputy
Attorney General Rosenstein about his involvement in the (Comey)
firing," Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Intelligence
Committee, told Reuters.
National Security Agency Director Admiral Mike Rogers and Director of
National Intelligence Dan Coats will also be present at the hearing
originally set to discuss a foreign surveillance law.
"My hope will be that Admiral Rogers and Director Coats won't try to
hide behind executive privilege ... about the press reports about the
president asking them to downplay the Russia investigation," Warner
said.
The Washington Post reported on May 22 that Trump had asked the
officials to help push back against the FBI investigation into possible
coordination between his campaign and Moscow, citing current and former
officials.
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Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe arrives to testify before the U.S.
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in
Washington, U.S. May 11, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/File Photo
The two refused to comply with the request, which they regarded as
inappropriate, the Post report said.
The Washington Post separately reported on Tuesday that Coats told
associates in March that Trump asked him if he could intervene with
then FBI Director Comey to get the FBI to back off its focus on
Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser, in its Russia
probe, according to officials.
The intelligence officials are also expected to defend Section 702
of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA -- the stated
topic of the hearing -- which will expire on Dec. 31 unless Congress
votes to reauthorize it.
Section 702 allows the NSA to collect digital communications of
foreigners believed to be living overseas whose communications pass
through U.S. telephone or Internet providers. Information about
Americans is also sometimes incidentally gathered, such as when
someone is communicating to a foreign target which privacy advocates
have long argued evades Constitutional protections against
warrantless searches.
U.S. surveillance practices have come under increased scrutiny amid
unsubstantiated assertions by Trump and other Republicans that the
White House under former President Barack Obama, a Democrat,
improperly spied on Trump or his associates.
There is no evidence that political motives drove Obama
administration officials to request the names of Trump associates in
any intercepts. The requests underwent every required evaluation,
and they produced nothing out of the ordinary, according to four
current and former officials who have reviewed the materials.
(Additional reporting by John Walcott; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and
Lisa Shumaker)
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