“To put Dan Coats in the position that we put Jim Comey — of having to answer over 100 times, ‘I’d like to answer that question, but I cannot do it in this setting’ — I get the spectacle of it. There’s just no substance,” Gowdy said.

“I get the politics of it. What I don’t get is the duplicity. Lots and lots of things are done in confidence, particularly in the intelligence realm,” Gowdy said, noting that he interviewed “70-something” witnesses in 2017 about Russia’s attempts in 2016 to interfere in the election.

Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia denied that political motivations underlie his call for a hearing with Coats.

“Think about what the subpoena was — Dan Coats, come and tell us what you can in public about Russian interference and what we know and the nature of the threat,” Connolly said. “It’s not like he hasn’t talked in public about this. He has. So let’s have a hearing.”