Reps. Trey Gowdy (left) and Bob Goodlatte say they're seeking information from FBI officials about their handling of probes on Hillary Clinton and President Donald Trump. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo GOP chairmen seek to interview top FBI officials on Clinton, Trump Reps. Goodlatte and Gowdy take the next step in an unfolding confrontation between Republicans and DOJ.

Two powerful House Republicans are asking the Justice Department to make senior FBI officials available to testify before Congress as early as this week, the latest salvo in an expanding confrontation between the GOP and the bureau.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy say they're seeking information from FBI officials about their handling of two probes: the investigation of Hillary Clinton's handling of classified information and the investigation of President Donald Trump's campaign associates and their ties to Russia.


In a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy Rod Rosenstein, the lawmakers ask for transcribed interviews as early as Thursday with FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, FBI chief of staff Jim Rybicki and FBI lawyer Lisa Page.

"Among other things, the Committees are investigating the circumstances surrounding the FBI's decision to publicly announce the investigation into former Secretary Clinton's handling of classified information, but not to publicly announce the investigation into campaign associates of then-candidate Donald Trump," Goodlatte and Gowdy write.

Some Republicans on the judiciary panel have already said Goodlatte has promised to subpoena these FBI officials if they refuse to testify. Republicans have become increasingly frustrated about the FBI's decision to withhold details about its handling of both investigations.

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In particular, the bureau has declined to share sensitive details about its use of a disputed dossier it received last year describing purported ties between Trump and the Kremlin. The dossier, compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele, has been derided by Trump as a fiction, though investigators have looked at it for clues about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the 2016 election.

Some congressional Republicans have also suggested rampant anti-Trump bias in the upper ranks of the FBI, as well as in the criminal probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

McCabe, in particular, has drawn fire from Republican lawmakers for his wife's political affiliation with former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a top Clinton ally. McCabe testified Tuesday before the House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own Russia investigation.

Gowdy, who sits on that committee, had suggested in recent days McCabe might choose to quit his post in order to delay his testimony. But he arrived as scheduled.