Comey, Rice, Clapper among GOP senator’s targets for subpoenas amid Obama-era probe

Some of the most high-profile figures of the Obama administration are among a list of officials Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) would like to subpoena as part of his investigation into the FBI’s probe of Russian election meddling and the Trump campaign. 

The list, released by Johnson’s office on Thursday night, comes after he scheduled a committee vote for June 4 to seek subpoena authority. 

Former FBI Director James Comey, former national security adviser Susan Rice, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan are among dozens of officials Johnson will request authority to subpoena. 

“I am asking for this authority to ensure the committee has the ability to quickly and efficiently seek compulsory process should it become necessary. We have a great tradition in this country of peaceful and cooperative transitions of power, and the American people deserve to know if any wrongdoing occurred to corrupt the process and sabotage the new administration,” Johnson said in a statement.

He added that they were voting on the authorization “with the hope that subpoenas won’t be necessary.”

In addition to requesting authority to subpoena specific individuals, Johnson also wants authority to issue subpoenas to the FBI for records related to Crossfire Hurricane, the name for its investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign; the State Department for any records related to Christopher Steele, who compiled a controversial research dossier against then-candidate Trump; and the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General for records related to its review of surveillance warrant applications related to former Trump campaign aide Carter Page. 

Johnson is also requesting the authority to subpoena documents from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence related to attempts to “unmask” individuals tied to the Trump campaign, transition team or White House through January 2017.

Johnson told reporters earlier this month that he would probe the investigation of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, after the Justice Department’s decision to drop its case against him. 

Flynn was fired by President Trump in 2017 for misleading Vice President Pence about his conversations with then-Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. 

The vote to give Johnson the wide-ranging subpoena authority comes after the committee voted along party lines last week to issue a subpoena for Blue Star Strategies, a U.S. firm with ties to Ukraine gas company Burisma Holdings, as part of Johnson’s investigation into Hunter Biden. Currently under the committee’s rules a subpoena can only be issued with the agreement of Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.), the top Democrat, or with a majority vote.  

Republicans are ramping up their controversial investigations tied to the Obama administration as Trump prepares to face off against former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, in November. The tactics have frustrated Democrats who view the probes as Republicans using their majority to investigate Trump’s political enemies, hunt for fodder against Biden or inadvertently spread Russian misinformation. 

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), in a statement on Thursday, said Republicans “are still more focused on peddling conspiracy theories to prop up President Trump than they are helping the American people reeling from the health and economic crises.” 

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is also scheduled to force a vote on a wide-ranging subpoena next Thursday as part of his separate investigation into the FBI’s Russia probe. Included among the dozens of individuals he wants to subpoena are Comey, Rice, Clapper and Brennan.