Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley has said that former FBI chief James Comey "has time for book tours and television interviews, but apparently no time to" testify, and that he wants to consult with the committee's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, about a subpoenaing him. | Win McNamee/Getty Images Grassley wants to subpoena Comey, Lynch after DOJ watchdog report

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Thursday that he wants to subpoena former FBI Director James Comey to address sharp criticism of his handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation by the Justice Department's internal watchdog.

Comey declined to testify before the Judiciary Committee at a hearing this week on the report from the department's inspector general, which said Comey made "a serious error of judgment" by telling Congress that the Clinton email inquiry was re-opened days before the 2016 election.


Grassley quipped during the hearing that Comey "has time for book tours and television interviews, but apparently no time to" testify, and said Thursday that he wants to consult with the committee's top Democrat, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, about a subpoena.

"I will want to subpoena him," Grassley said during an interview for C-SPAN's "Newsmakers."

The Iowan added that committee rules require that he and Feinstein "agree to it, and at this point, I can’t tell you if she would agree to it. But if she will, yeah, then we will subpoena."

Grassley said he also plans to consult with Feinstein on a subpoena for former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, whom the inspector general's report knocked for an "ambiguous" incomplete recusal from the FBI's investigation into Clinton's use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state.

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Feinstein took aim at Comey this week for his public comments on the Clinton probe so close to the election while he "remained silent on the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia," a move she said assisted President Donald Trump while hurting Clinton's presidential bid.

"While I disagree with his actions, I have seen no evidence that Mr. Comey acted in bad faith or that he lied about any of his actions," Feinstein said during the Judiciary panel's Monday hearing.

Still, Feinstein appears disinclined to support a subpoena for Comey or Lynch. Comey is "involved in the obstruction of justice investigation and won’t be able to speak on those matters, so now isn’t the time," Feinstein said through a spokesman.

Lynch "would only be able to speak to the Clinton email investigation, which has been investigated ad nauseam, including a 500+ page inspector general report that we had a hearing on last week, so she wouldn’t have anything to add to the committee’s current inquiries," Feinstein added.

Securing Feinstein's agreement is only one of two paths for Grassley to issue a subpoena under committee rules. The other is a majority vote of Judiciary members.

Grassley also indicated during the C-SPAN interview, taped to air Friday, that he would be inclined to seek Feinstein's cooperation on an immunity request from Comey's onetime No. 2, former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

Because the inspector general referred a separate conclusion that McCabe misled investigators for a possible criminal probe, McCabe's lawyers have told Grassley that he would be unable to testify without immunity.

Before he and Feinstein move forward on that request, Grassley said, he wants to talk with McCabe's lawyers "about what he can contribute to our oversight, because if he can’t contribute anything substantive, there’s no point in going through it."

Asked about potential future testimony from McCabe, Feinstein said: "Immunity needs to be resolved before deciding whether a subpoena is appropriate.”

Asked whether he agreed with other senior Republicans that special counsel Robert Mueller should wrap up his investigation into potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, Grassley said he has advised Trump directly to "let it play out."

Releasing any report on the Russia probe between Labor Day and the November election, would prove problematic, Grassley added — forecasting that Mueller would likely wait until after the midterms if he was unable to finish before the end of the summer.

And, Grassley said, "I would like to have him speed it up, though."