After former FBI Director James Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee in June that he had spoken with colleagues about his encounters with President Trump, the Senate Judiciary Committee asked to interview two specific FBI officials. The first is Jim Rybicki, Comey’s former chief of staff, and the second is Carl Ghattas, the executive assistant director in charge of the FBI's national security branch. The Judiciary committee is looking into Comey's time as head of the bureau and the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's private email server.
The Department of Justice denied the Senate committee's request, saying the interviews could interfere with the special counsel's separate Russia investigation. The Senate committee tried again on August 25th, saying its inquiry would not involve asking the officials about their current work supervising FBI agents working with the special counsel but rather would focus solely on their recollections as witnesses prior to Comey's dismissal. DOJ rejected the second appeal too.
But on Wednesday, Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) revealed the Justice Department finally agreed to the interviews ... with conditions.
From Newsweek:
The department said the interviews must happen in a classified setting; the committee must not ask questions related to the Mueller investigation; a Justice Department representative must attend; and the witnesses and department must be able to access the interview transcripts afterward.
Grassley has not yet revealed when the interviews might take place.