A federal judge has scheduled a hearing for Friday to address former FBI Director James Comey‘s challenge of a subpoena from the House of Representatives.
Comey was subpoenaed to appear before the Republican led-House Judiciary Committee to discuss decisions made by the FBI in 2016, including a call not to recommend criminal charges against Democrat Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server and the FBI’s investigation into potential coordination between Russia and Republican Donald Trump‘s campaign.
Comey, who has testified about the matters several times, has said he would appear in a public hearing but he is seeking to block the subpoena because it would require him to appear in a private, closed-door interview on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden scheduled a hearing for Friday afternoon in Washington, D.C.
Comey’s lawyers said in court papers that they fear a closed-door setting would lead to “selective leaking.”
In court documents, they wrote that House committees had been leaking to “support a false political narrative, while subjecting the witnesses to a variety of abuse.”
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, who sent the subpoena, tweeted Thursday evening that Comey “believes he deserves special treatment, as he is the only witness refusing to either appear voluntarily or comply with a subpoena.”
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
