Former FBI Director James B. Comey filed a motion Thursday to quash the subpoena forcing him to testify behind closed doors next week to the House, saying such secret testimony violates Congress’s own rules.

GOP chairmen, who are about to lose power in the new Congress in January, are trying to bring Mr. Comey to Capitol Hill to explain his decisions related to the 2016 election, particularly investigations into Hillary Clinton’s use of her personal email and the probe into Russian activities during the campaign.

Mr. Comey says in the court filings he’d be willing to talk publicly but said the closed-door session the House has planned is a set-up.

He said he fears lawmakers will emerge to “peddle a distorted, partisan political narrative about the Clinton and Russian investigations through selective leaks.”

“Mr. Comey should not be coerced into participating in an improper and partisan effort to undermine the legitimacy of an institution that he served for the better part of four years,” his lawyers argued in court papers.

Mr. Comey says House rules mandate public hearings as the normal practice.

He’s asked the federal district court in Washington, D.C., to both delay Monday’s testimony and to quash the subpoenas outright.

Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Virginia Republican, took to Twitter to respond to the case, asking what Mr. Comey is trying to hide.

“It appears Mr. Comey believes he deserves special treatment, as he is the only witness refusing to either appear voluntarily or comply with a subpoena. He needs to appear before the Committees, as all other witnesses have done. Let the facts come to light,” Mr. Goodlatte tweeted.

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