Sen. Chuck Grassley also said talks have broken off to bring Paul Manafort before the panel. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Grassley says he's preparing subpoenas for FBI officials over Comey firing

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he is preparing subpoenas for two FBI officials about the firing of FBI Director James Comey, and he said negotiations to hear from President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort also have broken off.

Grassley said a final decision on summoning FBI national security division head Carl Ghattas and Comey's former chief of staff James Rybicki would have to await a consultation with the panel's ranking Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California.


The Justice Department has resisted requests for the two FBI officials to appear before Congress, saying such an appearance would be unwise without approval from special counsel Robert Mueller. Grassley and Feinstein have insisted Mueller gave their panel the go-ahead to gather evidence and testimony about Comey's dismissal by Trump while he was leading the investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 election.

"We've got subpoenas at the Senate counsel's office," Grassley said. "When we get done there, I'm going to have to consult with Sen. Feinstein."

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. An FBI spokesperson wouldn't comment.

Grassley also said talks have broken off to bring Manafort before the panel. The committee previously withdrew a subpoena to have him appear at a public hearing after Manafort agreed to provide some documents and to negotiate about submitting to a closed-door, but transcribed, interview.

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Grassley told reporters on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the committee might not need to call Manafort at all if he gets indicted, pointing to a New York Times report Monday that Mueller's prosecutors told the longtime Republican lobbyist and former campaign official that he should expect to be indicted.

"We have tried to talk to Manafort’s lawyers for weeks and we don’t get a phone call returned," the Judiciary chairman said. "That would mandate that we have a subpoena. But now my question, which I can’t answer is, I don’t know whether it’s worth issuing subpoenas when somebody’s been indicted."

An attorney for Manafort did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on Grassley's statement.

