"I think he implicitly confirmed that they are looking at this and he said he’d get us a clearer explanation by tomorrow," Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said. | AP Photo Sen. Whitehouse: Comey may confirm FBI Russia investigation on Wednesday

A key Democratic senator probing Russian interference into the 2016 election said FBI Director James Comey has indicated privately to senators that he may provide a "clearer explanation" of the existence of a Russia-related FBI investigation in advance of an anticipated Senate hearing on Wednesday.

In an interview with POLITICO on Tuesday, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said the FBI director made the suggestion during a private sit-down between the two men and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on March 2.


Because the Comey meeting occurred the same day Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced his recusal from any investigations involving the 2016 campaign, Whitehouse said it was initially difficult to determine from whom Comey needed clearance to discuss the matter further.

“So we said look, we’re going to go ahead with our hearing on the 15th, just let us know by then,” Whitehouse said in the interview. “So I think he implicitly confirmed that they are looking at this and he said he’d get us a clearer explanation by tomorrow. That was satisfactory to both of us.”

Whitehouse added that “Comey wanted to have some time to structure his response.” Earlier Tuesday, Graham vented to reporters about the lack of response from the FBI, but Whitehouse was a bit more measured: “I don’t want to call the game over before the clock’s run out because we could easily hear tomorrow.”

Though much of the focus in Congress when it comes to investigating Russia has been on the Intelligence Committees in both chambers, Graham and Whitehouse have been running a parallel probe of sorts focusing on the FBI’s role in any Russia investigation. The two senators lead the Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on crime and terrorism, which has oversight of the FBI.

The subcommittee is holding a hearing — titled “The Modus Operandi and Toolbox of Russia and Other Autocracies for Undermining Democracies Throughout the World” — on Wednesday afternoon with key foreign policy experts.

The Rhode Island Democrat said one of the limitations of his probe with Graham is that the two senators don’t want to interfere with any federal investigation into Russia, but they need to at least be aware that one exists so as to not cross any boundaries.

“You can’t really be in the position of saying, ‘your congressional oversight will interfere with an ongoing investigation but we’re not going to confirm that we have an ongoing investigation.’ You can’t have it both ways,” Whitehouse said. “So I think that’s a fair question to ask and that [Comey’s] obligated to answer that question.”

Graham and Whitehouse also wrote to Comey last week asking for any documents, such as warrant applications or court orders, that may prove President Donald Trump’s claims that his predecessor, Barack Obama, wiretapped Trump Tower.