A group of conservative House Republicans has filed an amendment that would stymie one Democratic effort to investigate the firing of FBI Director James B. Comey by transforming it into an effort to probe Comey’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email scandal.
Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Mike Johnson (R-La.) have co-sponsored an amendment, a draft version of which was obtained by The Washington Post, that would hollow out a bill from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) demanding documents related to the Comey firing. Jayapal’s legislation, which is not expected to pass, demands information sets related to issues such as “the scope or application of Attorney General Sessions’ recusal” and “any system used by the White House to secretly record conversations between President Trump and Director Comey.”
The conservative amendment would remove all of those requests and replace them with demands for information on “leaks by James B. Comey,” on “the propriety and consequence of immunity deals given to possible Hillary Clinton co-conspirators” and “James B. Comey’s knowledge of the purchase of a majority stake in the company Uranium One by the company Rosatom,” a story revealed in 2015 that has continued to rage in conservative media. Other supporters of the president have sounded similar notes, arguing that the Trump administration could do much more than it has to probe Clinton.
The text of the amendment is below.
Resolved, That the President is requested, and the Attorney General of the United States is directed to transmit, respectively (in a manner appropriate to classified information, if the President or Attorney General determines appropriate), to the House of Representatives, not later than 14 days after the date of the adoption of this resolution, copies of any document, record, audio recording, memo, correspondence, or other communication in their possessions, or any portion of any such communication, that refers or relates to the following:
1) Then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch directing James B. Comey to mislead the American people by stating that he should refer to the investigation into the mishandling of classified data and use of an unauthorized email server by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a “matter,” rather than a criminal “investigation.”
2) Leaks by James B. Comey to Columbia University law professor, Daniel Richman, regarding conversations had between President Trump and then-FBI Director James B. Comey, and how the leaked information was purposefully released to lead to the appointment of special counsel, Robert Mueller, a longtime friend of James B. Comey;
3) The propriety and consequence of immunity deals given to possible Hillary Clinton co-conspirators Sheryl Mills, Heather Samuelson, John Bentel, and potentially others, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, during the criminal investigation James B. Comey led into Hillary Clinton’s misconduct;
4) The decision by James B. Comey to usurp the authority of then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch in his unusual announcement that criminal charges would not be brought against Hillary Clinton following her unlawful use of a private email server and mishandling of classified information.
5) James B. Comey’s knowledge and impressions of ex-parte conversation between then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton on June 27, 2016, at a Phoenix airport on a private jet;
6) James B. Comey’s knowledge of the company ‘Fusion GPS,’ including its creation of a “dossier” of information about Mr. Trump; that dossier’s commission and dissemination in the months before and after the 2016 Presidential Election; the intelligence sources of Fusion GPS or any person or company working for Fusion GPS or its affiliates;
7) Any and all potential leaks originated by James B. Comey and provided to author Michael Schmidt dating back to 1993;
8) James B. Comey’s knowledge of the purchase of a majority stake in the company Uranium One by the company Rosatom; whether the approval of the sale was connected to any donations made to the Clinton Foundation; what role then-Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton, played in the approval of that sale, and whether the sale could have affected the national security of the United States of America;
9) James B. Comey’s refusal to investigate then Secretary of State Hiliary Clinton:
a. Selling access to the U.S. State Department through Clinton Foundation donations
b. Huma Abedin’s duel employment at the State Department and the Clinton Foundation simultaneously
c. Utilization of the State Department to further paid speaking opportunities for her husband
10) Any collusion between Former FBI Director James B. Comey and special counsel Robert Mueller; including but not limited to:
a. The information Comey admitted to leaking to the Columbia University law professor, being intentional such that a special counsel, his longtime friend, Robert Mueller, would be appointed to lead the investigation against the Trump administration; and
b. Any communication between Muller and Comey in advance of the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
11) Whether James B. Comey had any knowledge of efforts made by any federal agency to monitor communications of then-candidate Donald Trump, and to assess any knowledge by Mr. James B. Comey about the “unmasking” of individuals on Donald Trump’s campaign team, transition team, or both; to assess the role that former National Security Adviser Ms. Susan Rice played in the unmasking of these individuals; to reveal the purpose served by unmasking any individual or individuals serving on the staff of then-candidate Donald Trump; the dissemination of unredacted information to various intelligence agencies, and any attempts by to use surveillance of then-candidate Trump for the purposes of damaging the credibility of his campaign, his presidency, or both.
