During the hearing, and previous hearings related to the Trump-Russia investigation, Republicans have often focused on leaks rather than the underlying subject, in an apparent attempt to reinforce the White House narrative that the media can not be trusted.
Graham cautioned that his judiciary subcommittee might have to "steer clear" of the matter if it conflicts with the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into Russian Federation and the Trump campaign, and he said he also wants to learn about whether the identities of Americans were unmasked and unlawfully leaked to the press for political purposes.
During Monday's testimony, Mr Clapper was asked whether he had any concerns about Mr Trump's business interests and a possible connection to Russian Federation.
Trump added in the same interview he had planned on firing Comey regardless of the DOJ recommendation, contradicting earlier statements by the White House press office and the vice president.
President Donald Trump again firmly denied Thursday that he has any financial links to Russian Federation.
"Senator Graham I can't comment on that because that impacts an investigation", he said.
In a declassified report released in January, the intelligence community concluded that Russian Federation helped with the NY billionaire's campaign effort ahead of winning the White House, an allegation dismissed both by Moscow and Trump.
AAP rigs EVM in House, EC unimpressed
Digvijaya Singh tweeted: It is the responsibility of Election Commission to convince every Indian that EVM is 100% fool proof and in no case can be tampered.
During the hearing, Clapper addressed such questions in the hypothetical, noting that he didn't have any specifics of how the Trump transition team vetted Flynn, but saying that the vetting process for the White House is supposed to be "far, far more invasive and far, far more thorough".
"I want to know more about Trump's business dealings", Mr Graham told CNN on Tuesday.
"The Democrats have said some of the worst things about James Comey, including the fact that he should be fired, but now they play so sad!"
Critics accused Trump of trying to stall ongoing investigation into his links with Russian Federation by firing the man who was leading the investigation.
"As we were setting off, I said, 'Eric, who's funding?" "Here's what I want to know: Did any of this information about Michael Flynn cross her desk?"
President Trump has hired a private lawyer to inform Sen. "I think the vice president was probably the strongest advocate to get rid of Flynn and the President eventually made the right decision". "You don't know who broke into DNC".
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