FBI deputy to be questioned in closed-door session by House panels

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe will be questioned Thursday in a closed-door session by the House Judiciary and the House Oversight committees, according to Reuters.

McCabe, who testified for eight hours on Tuesday before the full House Intelligence Committee, will return to Capitol Hill on Thursday for the transcribed interview.

A letter obtained by Reuters from the Judiciary Committee states that McCabe will not be permitted to testify about special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling during the interview.

{mosads}The deputy FBI director testified Tuesday about perceived bias from FBI agents assigned to Mueller’s team against President Trump.

McCabe has been a Republican target since it was revealed that his wife took political donations from Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.), a longtime ally of the Clintons. Republicans in Congress in recent weeks have been more vocal in questioning the integrity of agents assigned to Mueller’s office after it was revealed that one agent, Peter Strzok, was removed from the team over text messages indicating political bias against Trump.

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way he gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk,” Strzok texted another FBI employee on Aug. 15, likely referring to McCabe. “It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (S.C.), who is also a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Tuesday that McCabe was an extremely important witness and that Republicans would press him on a wide range of issues.

“Andrew McCabe cuts across every facet of every investigation in 2016 that your viewers are interested in from Secretary [Hillary] Clinton’s emails to the investigation into the Trump campaign,” Gowdy told Fox News.