Judiciary Committee Postpones Hearing With FBI’s Andrew McCabe on Russia Investigation

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaking with attendees at the 2015 Iowa Growth & Opportunity Party at the Varied Industries Building at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on Oct. 31, 2015. (Gage Skidmore/[CC BY-SA-2.0 (ept.ms/2utDIe9)])

The Senate Judiciary Committee is postponing a hearing with Andrew McCabe, the former FBI deputy director, after several senators tested positive or were possibly exposed to COVID-19.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) made the announcement on Monday that the hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed. It’s not clear when the hearing will be rescheduled.

Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) have tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, coming days after President Donald Trump contracted the virus and was hospitalized at Walter Reed hospital. Lee and Tillis sit on the Judiciary Committee.

McCabe was slated to testify as part of Graham’s months-long probe into “Crossfire Hurricane,” which was the FBI’s investigation into whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election and Trump’s campaign. He is also investigating a later probe headed by former special counsel Robert Mueller.

A letter from McCabe’s lawyer, Michael Bromwich, said he wouldn’t testify after the COVID-19 diagnoses.

“Mr. McCabe is willing, able, and eager to testify in person about Crossfire Hurricane at any time in the future when it is safe to do so. But he is not willing to put his family’s health at risk to do so,” the letter said. “For these reasons, we are unwilling to appear in person for the October 6 hearing; and for reasons of fairness, we are unwilling to testify remotely. A fair and appropriate hearing of this kind—which is complex and contentious—simply cannot be conducted other than in person.”

McCabe now works for CNN as a contributor.

Then-Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe listens during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 11, 2017. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo)

Graham announced in September that McCabe had agreed to appear before the panel, while suggesting that new revelations may come from the hearing. “There’s a day of reckoning coming. Just stay tuned, and there’s more coming. There’s something else coming, more damning than this, believe it or not,” Graham told Fox News.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is postponing a hearing with former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe after several GOP members were either diagnosed with or possibly exposed to the coronavirus.

His comments came following revelations that the Washington-based Russian national who supplied former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele with most of the unverified claims in the infamous Russia dossier was himself investigated by the FBI on suspicions of being a spy for the Kremlin. The revelations were revealed in documents provided by Attorney General William Barr to Graham.

Janita Kan contributed to this report.