Story highlights Sen. Chuck Grassley said his committee wants to talk to two FBI officials

Grassley is also mulling whether to subpoena an ex-Trump campaign chairman

(CNN) The Senate legal counsel is preparing subpoenas for two senior FBI officials the Justice Department is preventing the committee from interviewing, Senate judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday.

CNN first reported last week the Justice Department was preventing the individuals from appearing before the judiciary committee to answer questions about the firing of FBI Director James Comey, citing the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller.

Grassley and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committee's top Democrat, have repeatedly asked the two senior FBI officials -- Carl Ghattas and James Rybicki -- to sit down for a transcribed interview to discuss the Comey firing as part of the committee's probe into any improper interference with the FBI.

"We've got subpoenas at the Senate counsel office," Grassley told CNN Wednesday, referring to the Senate office that would draft the subpoenas. "When we get done there, I'm gonna have to consult with Sen. Feinstein."

Grassley did not say that he has decided yet to issue the subpoenas to Ghattas and Rybicki.

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