Former FBI lawyer Lisa Page will not comply with a congressional subpoena directing her to appear Wednesday for questioning about her role in the FBI’s handing of investigations into the Hillary Clinton email scandal and Trump campaign ties to Russia because she is still not prepared after months of notice, according to her attorney, who also blamed the bureau.
“Lisa Page plans to blatantly defy a congressional subpoena by refusing to appear for her deposition,” House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) tweeted Wednesday. “She is a key witness, and it is critical that she come before @HouseJudiciary to answer questions as part of our investigation. It appears she has something to hide.”
Goodlatte added that “we will use all tools at our disposal to obtain her testimony. Americans across the country are alarmed at the bias exhibited by top officials at the Justice Department and FBI, and it is imperative Congress conduct vigorous oversight to ensure that never happens again.”
Related: Strzok Hides Behind National Security Cover, Mum to Most Key Questions
In a statement given to CNN, Amy Jeffress, Page’s lawyer, claimed that she and her client “went to the FBI today to review the materials that were previously produced to Congress relating to her proposed interview, but after waiting for more than three hours, we were not provided with any documents.”
As a result, Jeffress continued, “We have asked the committees to schedule another date that would allow sufficient time for her to prepare. The committees have not honored this request. As a result, Lisa is not going to appear for an interview at this time.”
Jeffress was referring to the Judiciary panel, along with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, chaired by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), which planned a joint hearing to question Page.
Page became a key witness in 2017 when thousands of text messages she exchanged with her lover, former FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, became public. The messages displayed a raw bias against President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The FBI was investigating Clinton’s use of a private server and email addresses with her key aides and President Barack Obama to conduct official U.S. diplomatic and other government business. Hundreds of highly classified documents were compromised by Clinton’s actions.
Strzok and Page were also involved in the FBI’s investigation into allegations that Trump aides colluded with Russian interests against Clinton during the campaign.
Special counsel Robert Mueller took over the Russia collusion probe last year and removed Strzok from the investigation August 2017 after his texts with Page were revealed internally. Page left the FBI in May.
In one of the text messages, Strzok said, “No. No he won’t. We’ll stop it,” when asked by Page if Trump could become president. Strzok also cryptically referred to an “insurance policy” in the event that he did become president.
Trump, while traveling to Brussels for the NATO summit Tuesday, called Page’s refusal to testify a “total disgrace.”
“I am on Air Force One flying to NATO and hear reports that the FBI lovers, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page are getting cold feet on testifying about the Rigged Witch Hunt headed by 13 Angry Democrats and people that worked for Obama for 8 years,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “Total disgrace!”
Related: Meadows Still Sees Huge Anti-Trump Bias Despite Strzok Hearing
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz released his report on the email investigation June 7. The report cited the text messages’ showing deep-seated bias against the president, but concluded the bias did not influence decision-making.
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