[drypowder]

Hey Sen Grassley, why should Comey give a crap about the Assistant AG appointment conformation? No assistant AG means no investigation of the Trump - Russian probe because Sessions recused himself from that. Oh wait, now it becomes clear. No wonder Grassley is taking this approach with Comey, because Comey and the DC establishment (Grassley) are involved in this smear tactic of Trump and are up to their complicit eyeballs in it.

[SteveH]

that sounds possibly plausible. maybe comey is not playing ball with the new boss. the new boss is not the same as the old boss. the new boss cannot squeeze comey directly.

however, the new boss can squeeze comey indirectly. if comey refuses to brief congress, he delivers to trump a way to ask for comey’s resignation in public. then comey would have a big credibility problem, and would either have to resign or have congress remove him. so, the strategy is, or seems to be, to herd comey into a box canyon with a hearing.