Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Sunday that Congress needs to investigate whether former Attorney General Loretta Lynch covered for Hillary Clinton’s campaign when she asked ex-FBI Director James Comey to call the probe into Clinton’s email use a “matter” instead of an “investigation.”
Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday, noting that Lynch’s request made him feel “queasy.”
In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Feinstein, the committee’s top democrat, said she didn’t know if Lynch was providing cover for the Clinton campaign, but said the request would have given her “a queasy feeling, too.”
“I think we need to know more about that,” the California senator said. “And there’s only one way to know about it, and that’s to have the judiciary committee take a look at that.”
Feinstein was firm, however that an investigation into Lynch’s conduct with the Clinton campaign should be separate from the current Congressional investigation into potential ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia.
“I don’t think we should mix the two,” Feinstein said.
Feinstein said Comey’s testimony hasn’t given her a clear understanding of whether the president’s decision to fire the ex-FBI director amounted to obstruction of justice.
“I don’t know whether it’s obstruction of justice. I don’t intend to draw any conclusions until investigations are finished,” she said.
In the Thursday hearing Comey testified under oath that Trump asked him to “let go” of an investigation into Trump’s one-time National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was fired for lying about contacts with Russian officials after just 24 days on the job.
Comey said Trump also asked him to pledge his loyalty prior to his firing — Comey said he refused both requests.
In a press conference the day after Comey’s testimony, Trump flatly denied either things occurred, but stopped short of outright calling Comey a liar. Trump said he would be “100 percent” willing to testify under oath.
