Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, will testify on Russian meddling in the 2016 election. | AP Photo Senate Judiciary sets date for Yates, Clapper testimony on Russia

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, fired from President Donald Trump’s Justice Department in January, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper are set to testify on Russian meddling in the 2016 election at a May 8 hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The panel announced the testimony Tuesday morning. Meanwhile, the House intelligence committee continues to work on rescheduling previously slated testimony from Yates and Clapper that its chairman, California GOP Rep. Devin Nunes, canceled before announcing he would cede control of the panel’s probe of Russian intervention in the election. Yates and Clapper are expected to appear in an open House intelligence panel hearing sometime after May 2, the date the committee is set to hear from FBI Director James Comey in a closed session.


The Senate intelligence committee has held one open hearing on Russian involvement in American elections since the Trump administration began, featuring outside experts, but has not scheduled testimony since early January from the key players in its investigation of Russia's electoral disruption. Democrats on the panel are starting to publicly air their frustration with the pace.

Yates and Clapper will appear before the Senate Judiciary subpanel on crime and terrorism, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a Russia hawk and occasional Trump critic. Additional witnesses are possible at the May 8 hearing, titled “Russian Interference in the 2016 United States Election,” the committee stated on Tuesday.