Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Chuck Grassley give an opening statement before swearing-in Attorney General William Barr to testify, May 1, 2019. (Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press)
“Two sources close to the Senate probe tell CBS News that FBI agent Joe Pientka has been interviewed behind closed doors for “multiple hours” by investigators with Senate Judiciary and Senate Oversight/Government Affairs.
In 2018, then Chairman Chuck Grassley first sought Pientka’s testimony but the request was denied until now.
WHY IT MATTERS: Pientka is at the intersection of key events in the Durham investigation. Along with agent Peter Strzok, Pientka conducted the January 2017 WH interview of General Flynn that led to his dismissal.
More recently, declassified records showed Pientka and others used an August 2016 “defensive-briefing” to warn candidate Trump, Flynn Governor Christie about national security threats to gather information on their line of questioning about Russia for the FBI probe known as Crossfire Hurricane. These events and decision making fall under Durham.” (Read more: Catherine Herridge/Twitter, 8/27/2020) (Archive)