Former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey delayed his appearance before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee that was slated for Wednesday, US Congressman Jason Chaffetz said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Comey will not testify before the House of Representatives Oversight Committee on Wednesday, Chaffetz tweeted.

Spoke with Comey. He wants to speak with Special Counsel prior to public testimony. Hearing Wed postponed. @GOPoversight — Jason Chaffetz (@jasoninthehouse) 22 мая 2017 г.

​"Spoke with Comey, He wants to speak with Special Counsel prior to public testimony. Hearing [on Wednesday] postponed," Chaffetz stated via Twitter on Monday.

Earlier it was reported that Comey had agreed to provide testimony in front of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence publicly after Memorial Day, the panel's chairmen Richard Burr and Mark Warner announced in a press release.

On May 9, Trump fired Comey on the recommendation of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

The Trump administration asserted that the US president and "the rest of the FBI" had lost confidence in Comey over the last few months and in the past year with his poor handling of the investigation into the Hillary Clinton private server and email scandal. Comey was also reportedly seeking funding to extend the bureau’s inquiry into alleged links between Russia and Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The US media have been questioning alleged ties of the Trump campaign to Russia and exploring the claims that Russia may have influenced the 2016 presidential election. Russian officials have repeatedly denied charges of interfering in the US elections, saying the allegations are absurd and represent an attempt to divert the US public’s attention from revealed instances corruption as well as other pressing domestic issues.