Lawmakers on the Senate Intelligence Committee were dismayed Wednesday over the lack of candor from top US officials when asked direct questions about their possible improper interactions with the President of the United States.
The focus of the hearing was supposed to be on the reauthorization of surveillance authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). That agenda, however, was derailed after the Washington Post reported Tuesday that President Trump reached out to his Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of the NSA and CIA in an effort to hamper the ongoing Justice Department probe into alleged Russian activities during the campaign.
Two of three of those men, National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and NSA chief Adm. Mike Rogers, were on hand to testify, but neither provided confirmation nor denial of those discussions with the President—a silence that agitated Senators.
“I don’t understand why you’re not answering our questions,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said after repeated inquires to Coats and Rogers, asking if the President discussed the Russia probe with either of them.
Rogers and Coats claimed that the conversations were of a classified nature, and they wouldn’t comment on them in a public setting, or even confirm if they took place. When pressed if they would be more candid in a classified session, both Coats and Rogers hedged again.
“I plan to do that but I do have to work through the legal counsel at the White House whether or not they’re going to exercise executive–” Coats said, stopping his sentence.
Rogers, too, said he would hack to check with the White House before disclosing his interactions with the President to the committee. The NSA Director did provide a statement to the Senators, claiming that to the best of his recollection he has “never been directed to do anything I believed to be illegal, immoral, unethical or inappropriate.”
Undermining their commitment to silence, both Coats and Rogers informed the committee that they had reached out to the White House before Wednesday’s hearing to ask if the administration was planning to invoke executive privilege, but did not receive such instructions.
“It is my belief that you are inappropriately refusing to answer these questions today,” Sen. King said.
According to the Washington Post, Trump privately discussed the ongoing Russia investigation with his CIA Director Mike Pompeo and DNI Coates after a meeting in March. The President reportedly complained about the probe, and asked the men if they could intervene with former FBI Director James Comey to derail it.
Coats was later directly asked by Trump to publicly speak out against claims that campaign officials coordinated with Russian operatives to influence the election. A similar request was made to NSA Director Rogers.
“At some point the American public deserves full answers,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the Ranking Member of the Committee told the witnesses.
Also testifying Wednesday was Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe.
“Our default position is that when there is a Justice Department investigation, we do not discuss it publicly,” Rosenstein claimed, attempting to explain the silence from his colleagues.
“Is that the rule for the President of the United States as well?” Sen. Warner shot back. “Because that is what the questions are being asked about: reports that nobody has laid to rest here that the President of the United States has intervened directly in an ongoing FBI investigation.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) also attempted to tease out information from the witnesses, but to no avail.
“You realize how simple it would simply be to say ‘no, that never happened,’” Heinrich told Director Coats, asking him if the conversation reported in the Post actually occurred.
Sen. Heinrich also asked FBI head McCabe if he ever had a meeting met with former Director Comey, in which Comey discussed interactions with President Trump.
McCabe, too, was mum.
“I’m not going to comment on those conversations,” he said, claiming that they could fall within the scope of issues being investigating by the special counsel, Robert Mueller.
“You’re unwillingness to share that conversation is an issue,” Heinrich responded.
Former FBI Director Comey is slated to appear before the committee Thursday in a much-anticipated hearing regarding his interactions with President Trump before he was fired.
