FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Judiciary Committee Leaders Seek Copies of

Reported Comey Memos and Possible Trump Tapes

WASHINGTON Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and

Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein along with Crime and Terrorism
Subcommittee Chairman Lindsey Graham and Ranking Member Sheldon
Whitehouse today called on the FBI to provide all memos relating to former
FBI Director Comeys interactions with his superiors in both the Trump and
Obama administrations. They also called on the White House to provide
records of interactions with former Director Comey, including any audio
recordings.

The requests follow news reports that Comey authored internal memos
following meetings and conversations with President Trump in order to
document what he perceived to be improper behavior by the President with
respect to ongoing investigations at the FBI. The president implied in a
tweet last week that the White House may have recordings of interactions
with Comey.

In a letter to Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, the Judiciary Committee

leaders request all such memos, if they exist, that Mr. Comey created
memorializing interactions he had with Presidents Trump and Obama,
Attorneys General Sessions and Lynch, and Deputy Attorneys General
Rosenstein, Boente, and Yates regarding the investigations of Trump
associates alleged connections with Russia or the Clinton email
investigation.

The letter from the senators to White House Counsel Donald McGahn, seeks
all White House records memorializing interactions with Mr. Comey relating
to the FBIs investigation of alleged ties between President Trumps
associates and Russia, or the Clinton email investigation, including all audio
recordings, transcripts, notes, summaries, or memoranda.
The Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, led by Chairman
Graham and Ranking Member Whitehouse, is currently conducting an
investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections.
Committee leadership expects to hold a hearing on these matters.

Full text of both letters follows.

May 17, 2017

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Andrew McCabe
Acting Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20535
Dear Acting Director McCabe:

Yesterday, the New York Times reported that former Director Comey
created memos regarding his interactions with President Trump, a paper
trail Mr. Comey created documenting what he perceived as the presidents
improper efforts to influence an ongoing investigation. The article stated
that Mr. Comey created similar memos including some that are classified
about every phone call and meeting he had with the president. More
generally, the article stated Mr. Comey was known among his closet
advisers to document conversations that he believed would later be called
into question. Presumably, this means that Mr. Comey created similar
memoranda relating to other controversial conversations, whether with
officials in the current administration or the prior one.

We are writing to request that the FBI provide the Committee with all
such memos, if they exist, that Mr. Comey created memorializing interactions
he had with Presidents Trump and Obama, Attorneys General Sessions and
Lynch, and Deputy Attorneys General Rosenstein, Boente, and Yates
regarding the investigations of Trump associates alleged connections with
Russia or the Clinton email investigation. Please provide these documents
by no later than May 24, 2017.
 We anticipate that some of these documents may be classified, some
may not, and others may contain both classified and unclassified
information. Please deliver any documents containing classified information
to the Office of Senate Security and provide all unclassified documents
directly to the Committee. If you have any specific requests with regard to
the Committees handling of unclassified material, please raise those with us
in advance.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. If you
have any questions, please contact Patrick Davis of Chairman Grassleys staff
at (202) 224-5225, Heather Sawyer of Ranking Member Feinsteins staff at
(202) 224-7703, Lee Holmes of Chairman Grahams staff at (202) 224-5972,
or Lara Quint of Ranking Member Whitehouses staff at (202) 224-2921.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley Dianne Feinstein

Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary

Lindsey Graham Sheldon Whitehouse

Chairman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee on Crime and
Terrorism
Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary

May 17, 2017

VIA ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION

The Honorable Donald McGahn

White House Counsel
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr.McGahn:
 Yesterday, the New York Times reported that former FBI Director
Comey memorialized the content of his phone calls and meetings with
President Trump in a series of internal memoranda. In particular, the article
alleged that Mr. Comey had memorialized a conversation with the President
in which the President made statements that have been interpreted as
asking the FBI to clear Mr. Flynn of alleged wrongdoing. The article noted
that Mr. Comey was known among his closet advisers to document
conversations that he believed would later be called into question. Last
week, the President tweeted a message implying that the White House may
have audio recordings of interactions with Mr. Comey.

The Judiciary Committee has already written to the FBI requesting all
memos, if they exist, that Mr. Comey created memorializing interactions he
had with Presidents Trump and Obama, Attorneys General Sessions and
Lynch, and Deputy Attorneys General Rosenstein, Boente, and Yates
regarding the investigations of Trump associates alleged connections with
Russia or the Clinton email investigation. In order for the Committee to fully
assess these allegations, we are also asking that the White House please
provide the Committee all White House records memorializing interactions
with Mr. Comey relating to the FBIs investigation of alleged ties between
President Trumps associates and Russia, or the Clinton email investigation,
including all audio recordings, transcripts, notes, summaries, and
memoranda. To the extent the prior administrations records of interactions
with Mr. Comey about these topics may now be housed at the National
Archives or elsewhere, we ask that you make the relevant personnel there
aware of the request and authorize them to release the records to the
Committee.

Please provide the records by May 24, 2017. Thank you for your
prompt attention to this important matter. If you have any questions, please
contact Patrick Davis of Chairman Grassleys staff at (202) 224-5225,
Heather Sawyer of Ranking Member Feinsteins staff at (202) 224-7703, Lee
Holmes of Chairman Grahams staff at (202) 224-5972, or Lara Quint of
Ranking Member Whitehouses staff at (202) 224-2921.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley Dianne Feinstein

Chairman Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary
Lindsey Graham Sheldon Whitehouse
Chairman Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism Subcommittee on Crime and
Terrorism
Committee on the Judiciary Committee on the Judiciary

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