Eliza Collins

USA TODAY

WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress are promising the headlines over Hillary Clinton's email server won't go away anytime soon. On Wednesday, Republican leaders announced that FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Loretta Lynch will be testifying on the subject on Capitol Hill over the next two weeks, and additional probes may follow.

Comey will testify in front of the House Oversight Committee on Thursday on the investigation into Clinton’s private email server.

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, announced Wednesday that Comey had accepted an invitation to attend the Thursday morning hearing, a day after the director announced the FBI would not recommend criminal charges against Clinton for mishandling classified information.

“The FBI's recommendation is surprising and confusing. The fact pattern presented by Director Comey makes clear Secretary Clinton violated the law. Individuals who intentionally skirt the law must be held accountable,” Chaffetz said in a statement. “Congress and the American people have a right to understand the depth and breadth of the FBI's investigation. I thank Director Comey for accepting the invitation to publicly answer these important questions.”

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“I think Director Comey’s press conference … raises more questions than provides answers," House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters on Wednesday. “There are a lot of questions that have to be answered. And so we’re going to be asking those questions.”

Ryan said Clinton should not receive classified briefings as the Democratic nominee because "she was so reckless in the handling of classified material and sending classified information on unsecured servers." And he said Congress may try to push this punishment if the administration does not.

“From my own experience (as vice presidential nominee in 2012) you get access to deeply classified material once you leave the convention as the nominee on a regular basis, it’s part of a transition government. With no indictment occurring, but a discussion or call for administrative action, I think it’s the least we can do," Ryan said. "I think that’s something the administration should do on its own, but we’ll look into seeing if that’s something we can do as well.”

On Tuesday, Comey gave a scathing statement on Clinton’s use of a private email server, calling her and her team “extremely careless” in handling classified information, but ultimately declined to recommend prosecution. Comey said the FBI uncovered among Clinton's emails 110 messages that were classified at the time they were sent or received.

But Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, who is the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee, issued a statement criticizing the decision to schedule Comey's testimony.

"Since Republicans disagree with his recommendation, they are doing what they always do—using taxpayer funds to continue ‘investigating’ their baseless claims in an effort to bring down Secretary Clinton’s poll numbers," Cummings said. "The only emergency here is that yet another Republican conspiracy theory is slipping away."

Clinton press secretary Brian Fallon tweeted about Comey's testimony immediately following Chaffetz's announcement.

House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., announced Wednesday that Lynch will testify before the House Judiciary Committee on July 12. Goodlatte said there are multiple things on the agenda, but Comey's announcement will be included.

"The recent announcement by FBI Director Comey that he does not recommend criminal charges be brought against Hillary Clinton for her mishandling of classified information raises serious concerns," Goodlatte said in a statement. "It is uniquely troubling in light of Attorney General Lynch’s secret meeting with former President Bill Clinton. No one is above the law and the American people need to know that federal law enforcement is taking this misconduct seriously."

Lynch and Bill Clinton had a private conversation June 27 as both were passing through the Phoenix airport. Lynch has said it was primarily a social conversation about their travels and Clinton's grandchildren, but Republicans have raised concerns about the meeting coming so close to the announcement of the results of the email probe. Lynch has since said it was a mistake to take the meeting and she "wouldn't do it again."

Contributing: Donovan Slack

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