The House Intelligence Committee will hold its first public hearing in its contentious investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on March 20, Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) announced Tuesday. The hearing is scheduled for the same day that Senate is set to begin its own high-stakes hearing to weigh the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacant slot on the Supreme Court. A preliminary witness list, which Nunes cautioned may be modified or expanded as necessary, includes a who’s-who of current and former senior intelligence officials linked to the probe. Invited to testify are: FBI Director James Comey, National Security Agency head Adm. Mike Rogers, former CIA director John Brennan, former national intelligence director James Clapper, former acting attorney general Sally Yates and two senior officials from the cybersecurity firm that first put the finger on the Russians for the breach of the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Conspicuously absent from the list: Former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who resigned just weeks into his tenure following revelations that he misled the White House about the content of phone calls to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyac.
“At this point, we’ve invited the people who we feel are directly aligned with having information about this investigation on all sides of it,” Nunes said. “General Flynn is a tangent to some of this because of his name being involves in a lot of leaks.”
Flynn is “invited to attend,” Nunes said, despite not being on “our official invite list.” The committee, along with its counterpart in the Senate, is investigating Russian efforts to influence U.S. presidential election.
Full Article: House Intel panel sets date for first Russia hearing | TheHill.