Kevin Johnson, and Erin Kelly

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — The negotiations over James Comey's testimony have begun.

The former FBI director who was fired by President Trump has started preliminary discussions with special counsel Robert Mueller about his intention to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee about his communications with the president, as part of the panel’s ongoing inquiry into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, USA TODAY has learned.

A close associate of Comey who is not authorized to comment publicly said Tuesday that Mueller is not expected to block the former director from appearing before the Senate panel. However, that appearance would occur only after Comey is fully debriefed for the federal investigation, the source said.

The panel previously announced that Comey, abruptly dismissed earlier this month as he was running the FBI's Russia investigation, agreed to testify following the Memorial Day holiday. No date has been set.

But there were questions about whether the four congressional committees running concurrent investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election would be able to secure public testimony and documents from Comey and other witnesses now that Mueller has been appointed.

Mueller, a former FBI director succeeded by Comey in 2013, was appointed to take over the FBI's wide-ranging Russia inquiry earlier this month after Comey's firing. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced Mueller's selection a day after it was disclosed that Comey maintained a secret file documenting his communications with the president.

Comey's notes include his account of his Feb. 14, encounter with Trump in which he says the president urged him to back off the examination of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn had been fired the day before for lying to other administration officials about his communications with Russia ambassador Sergey Kislyak before the inauguration.

Now, lawmakers want access to Comey and his memos, contributing to mounting tension between interests of lawmakers who are urging a public airing of Russia's interference — and Mueller, a prosecutor who might worry that any disclosure of potential evidence could damage an ongoing criminal investigation.



Public testimony could become even more important as the Russia controversies continue to dominate the news cycles in Washington — especially when it comes to determining Trump's motives when firing his FBI director four months into his term.

In the days after firing Comey, Trump called Russia investigation a "made-up story" and said in an interview with NBC News that it was indeed on his mind when he fired the FBI chief. That contradicted his administration's previous assertions — and even his own widely disseminated termination letter to Comey — stating the dismissal was based on the recommendations of Justice Department leadership, who objected to his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

As special counsel, Mueller's investigative authority includes whether attempts were made to obstruct the federal inquiry.

The person familiar with Comey's contacts with Mueller said that while discussions between the two have only been preliminary, there appeared to be an understanding of the need for public testimony from Comey.

There also was agreement on the need for Mueller's team to be fully briefed before Comey provided public testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

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Last week, Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the Republican chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which also has sought Comey's testimony, canceled a scheduled hearing, saying Comey needed to consult with Mueller before offering any public comment.

The discussions involving Comey and Mueller come as at least two of the four congressional committees investigating Russia interference appeared to ramp up their activities. Michael Cohen, Trump's outspoken personal lawyer, acknowledged Tuesday that he is resisting a request from congressional investigators seeking information from him about possible contacts with Russia.

Cohen's name surfaced last year in an unsubstantiated dossier prepared by a former British intelligence agent, alleging that the lawyer attended a meeting in Prague to discuss Russia's targeting of Democrats for hacking operations.

"To date, there has not been a single witness, document or piece of evidence linking me to this fake Russian conspiracy,'' Cohen said in a text message to USA TODAY. "This is not surprising to me because there is none! I declined the invitation (by the Senate and House Intelligence panels) to participate as the request was poorly phrased, overly broad and not capable of being answered.''

Cohen is the second Trump associate to refuse cooperation with congressional investigating committees. Earlier this month, Flynn rejected a subpoena from the Senate Intelligence Committee, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Last week, the committee issued two new subpoenas to Flynn's businesses and is seeking a response by early next week.

A third associate, Carter Page, an ex-foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump's campaign, told USA TODAY on Tuesday that he no longer plans to testify publicly before the House Intelligence Committee in June as part of the panel's investigation of Russian interference in last year's election. Page had announced just last week that he planned to testify, in part because he wanted to rebut statements made in a public hearing a week ago by former CIA Director John Brennan. The ex-CIA chief told the panel he had "unresolved questions" about whether Russia had been successful in getting Trump campaign officials to act on its behalf.

Asked whether he was prohibited from rebutting Brennan's testimony, Page replied in a text message, "That sounds like a credible theory."

Meanwhile, former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn, who served briefly in the White House press office, confirmed Tuesday through his attorney that he has received "a broad, preliminary request for information" from the House Intelligence Committee and has asked committee officials some questions to "better understand what information they are seeking" and whether he "is able to reasonably provide it."

Separately, White House spokesman Sean Spicer declined to address the uncertainty surrounding top Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Kushner, according to a person familiar with the FBI investigation, has drawn the scrutiny of federal investigators related to his contacts with Russian officials prior to the inauguration.

Spicer specifically refused to comment on disclosures that Kushner sought to establish a back-channel of communications with the Kremlin, which were first reported by The Washington Post. Kushner, according to the report, was open to using Russian communication facilities to open that line.

Also Tuesday, Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, formally requested that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers produce any personal notes of their communications with Trump in which the president may have urged them to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of possible collusion involving the campaign and Russia.

Last week, Coats declined to address any such encounter during testimony before a Senate panel.

Trump has also hired a personal lawyer to handle any matters related to the ongoing Russia investigations. Last week, former senator Joe Lieberman withdrew from consideration as the next FBI director, citing Trump's hiring of Marc Kasowitz to represent him in the Russia inquiry as a conflict of interest.

Contributing: Eliza Collins