FBI, NSA Directors Postpone House Intelligence Committee Closed Session

FBI Director James Comey's and National Security Agency (NSA) head Adm. Michael Rogers testify before the House Intelligence Committee's first open hearing in the probe investigating Russian interference in the U.S. ... FBI Director James Comey's and National Security Agency (NSA) head Adm. Michael Rogers testify before the House Intelligence Committee's first open hearing in the probe investigating Russian interference in the U.S. election on Capitol Hill on Mar. 20, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Leigh Vogel) *** Please Use Credit from Credit Field ***(Sipa via AP Images) MORE LESS
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FBI Director James Comey and NSA Director Mike Rodgers will no longer attend a closed session of the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday, a spokesperson for the committee confirmed to TPM Monday.

In a news conference last week, in which he claimed based on still-unknown sources that information on Trump affiliates may have been incidentally collected by U.S. intelligence agencies, committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA) announced that Comey and Rodgers would address a closed session of the committee. The committee is investigating possible connections and collusion between Trump campaign staffers and Russian officials.

He also canceled an open hearing of that committee with former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, which would have taken place the same day.

“Director Comey and Adm. Rogers could not come in tomorrow as we’d hoped, so the Committee will continue to try to schedule a time when they can meet with us in closed session,” Jack Langer, the committee’s director of communications, told TPM in an email Monday. Fox News first reported the cancellation.

Nunes’ behavior has now attracted attention in its own right.

The committee’s ranking member, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), expressed his frustration at Nunes’ single-handed changes to the committee schedule after the news conference last week.

“What’s really involved here is the cancellation of this open hearing and the rest is designed to distract,” he said.

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