FBI: OK for Congress to talk to Benghazi survivors

WASHINGTON — FBI Director James Comey (KOH’-mee) told senators he is not opposed to survivors of the 2012 attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi speaking to Congress.

Comey’s position on the politically charged issue is not the same as the State Department’s. The State Department has said congressional interviews with the survivors could jeopardize the Justice Department’s criminal case against the attackers. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki had no immediate response to Comey’s remarks.

The FBI is leading the investigation into the attack in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

Comey, a former federal prosecutor, added that the prosecutors may feel differently than he does, but that as the FBI director, he does not have an objection to Congress questioning the survivors.