Congressional investigators to question Lynch and Samantha Powers

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WASHINGTON — Two high-ranking Obama administration officials — former attorney general Loretta Lynch and former U.N. ambassador Samantha Power — will soon answer questions from congressional investigators probing Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Power is scheduled to meet with the House Intelligence Committee in a closed-door session Friday morning, according to a congressional aide who did not have authorization to speak on the record.

Lynch will answer questions on Capitol Hill next week, according to a person familiar with the matter but not authorized to discuss it publicly. She is expected to meet behind closed doors with both the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.

The committees are focusing on Russian interference in last year's election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. However, the panels also have been interested in talking to Obama administration officials about the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of State.

Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have also focused on the "unmasking" of Trump campaign aides by former Obama administration officials. President Trump and House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., have complained that Obama administration officials disclosed the names of Trump's campaign aides in classified intelligence reports that were later leaked to the media.

The unmasking issue has been raised by the White House and by Trump supporters as a suggestion that the Russia investigation has been politically motivated. But Democrats have largely dismissed it as an attempt to divert attention from possible collusion by Trump campaign officials with the Russians.

Power is expected to be questioned Friday about whether she asked that the names of Trump campaign aides be disclosed in classified documents. Former national security adviser Susan Rice answered similar questions before both the House and Senate Intelligence committees earlier this year.

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