Gowdy: Avoid "carnival" by recording an interview with Comey for the public.

Representative Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) Said Sunday that the congressional interview by former FBI Director, James Comey, should not be public, but rather videotaped.

"The cure for leaks is not to hold a public hearing in which you are supposed to ask about 17 months of work in five minutes," he said on television. "I think the cure is to videotape the video, so the public can see if the question is right, and they can judge the whole answer."

History continues below

Comey was summoned to testify in camera December 3 as part of an investigation into the decisions of the FBI and the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017, a time when some officials believe that the bureau has understated the private email survey of Hillary Clinton. server and instead began to probe possible connections between Russia and Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

However, Comey requested a public hearing and stated that he thought that there would be leaks if his testimony was private.

Gowdy said that he thought Comey "was right" and that "leaks are counterproductive".

"But there is no investigator on the planet who is trying to uncover the truth in five-minute increments," Gowdy said during a public hearing. "The cure is not to have a fight-like carnival atmosphere, which has become the public hearings of Congress."

When asked if it was a formal offer to Comey, Gowdy said the committee chair, Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Would decide. Former Attorney General Loretta Lynch is also required to testify before the Judiciary Committee of the House.

"What I would suggest is the video recording of the post pillar interview. Post it for classified information in case someone inadvertently asks or responds, then broadcast it to the public, "he said.

However, Gowdy said that regardless of the offer, Comey would not decide the format of the testimony.

"[Goodlatte] Similarly, Jim Comey, who, by the way, the FBI has never conducted an interview in public, will not be. Never, "he said. So, the idea that Jim Comey suddenly adored the public interviews, he had not done his whole career. So, Bob Goodlatte will decide and it will not be Jim Comey. "