Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said Page's decision "is long overdue." | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Ex-FBI lawyer Lisa Page to meet with congressional investigators

Lisa Page, the former FBI attorney who has defied a congressional subpoena to answer questions about text-message exchanges criticizing President Donald Trump, will sit for an interview Friday with congressional investigators, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said Thursday.

“Lisa Page has finally agreed to appear before the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees for a transcribed interview tomorrow. This decision is long overdue,” Goodlatte (R-Va.) said in a statement. “Lisa Page is a key witness in our investigation and we need to hear from her about her role related to certain decisions made by the Department and Bureau.”


The House Judiciary and Oversight committees are in the process of overseeing an investigation into alleged bias at the Department of Justice, focusing on the exoneration of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in relation to her use of a private email server as well as the ongoing probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller into potential collusion between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Of particular interest to Republicans have been exchanges between Page and FBI agent Peter Strzok, uncovered by the Justice Department’s inspector general, in which the two were critical of Trump. Goodlatte, in his statement, noted that the two committees had sought to interview Page as far back as December.

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Page had been subpoenaed to appear Wednesday for a deposition but did not appear. Her attorney, Amy Jeffress, previously said Page was not refusing to cooperate but had been treated unfairly by lawmakers and denied access to relevant FBI files necessary for her to prepare.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he was “disturbed” by her defiance of the subpoena and left open the possibility that she could be held in contempt of Congress if she refused to comply.