Attorney: Strzok may not comply with House subpoena
Embattled FBI agent Peter Strzok may not comply with a House Judiciary Committee subpoena requiring that he appear for a second round of questioning early next week, his lawyer told CNN's Chris Cuomo on Tuesday.
Posted — UpdatedThe committee had issued the subpoena for Strzok earlier on Tuesday.
Asked on "Cuomo Prime Time" whether his client will comply with the subpoena, attorney Aitan Goelman said, "My client will testify soon, somewhere, sometime. We just got this subpoena today, so I don't know whether or not we are going to be testifying next Tuesday in front of these two particular House subcommittees."
Goelman, when asked by Cuomo why he did not respond with an "automatic yes," replied, "Because we have come to the conclusion, forced to come to the conclusion, that this is not a search for truth, it is a chance for Republican members of the House to preen and posture before their most radical, conspiracy-minded constituents."
"From our experience with the committee thus far, it is obvious that they don't want the truth. They don't want to hear what Pete has to say," he added.
Strzok, formerly the No. 2 counterintelligence official at the FBI, has been lambasted by Republican lawmakers for the mountain of text messages he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page disparaging then-candidate Donald Trump during the time the pair worked on the investigations into Hillary Clinton's private email server and potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Despite saying Strzok may not comply with the subpoena to testify Tuesday, Goelman said Strzok is eager to testify in an open forum.
"Pete has been silent; he's been cooperating with the inspector general. He's been doing what he's supposed to, and now he wants a chance to actually talk to the American people," Goelman said.
Strzok was interviewed last week for 11 hours, behind closed doors in both unclassified and classified settings, after House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte initially slapped him with a subpoena to testify last month, although the two sides ultimately agreed to a voluntary interview and the subpoena was withdrawn.
Goelman also criticized members of the Judiciary Committee for allegedly leaking details of that interview while it was still in progress.
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