Tech Giants to Appear Before House and Senate in Russia Probe

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CORRECTS TO SAY THAT PHOTO WAS TAKEN DURING PREPARATION FOR THE SUMMIT ON WEDNESDAY, NOT THE ACTUAL SUMMIT ON THURSDAY - In this Wednesday, June 21, 2017, photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks in preparation for the Facebook Communities Summit, in Chicago, in advance of an announcement of a new Facebook initiative designed to spur people to form more meaningful communities with Facebook's groups feature. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, meets with reporters to discuss the process for investigating whether or how Russia influenced the presidential election, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said earlier that Congress should not begin a McCarthy-style investigation based on news reports that a few Americans with ties to President Donald Trump had contacted Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, meets with reporters to discuss the process for investigating whether or how Russia influenced the presidential election, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Intelligence Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes said earlier that Congress should not begin a McCarthy-style investigation based on news reports that a few Americans with ties to President Donald Trump had contacted Russians during the 2016 presidential campaign. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The House and Senate intelligence committees are inviting tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, to appear for public hearings as part of their investigations into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, The Associated Press has learned.

The House intelligence committee is planning to hold a hearing in October and the Senate intelligence committee has invited witnesses to appear November 1. The announcements of public hearings come the day before Twitter is scheduled to hold closed-door staff briefings with both panels. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, confirmed the House hearing in an interview with the AP, though he noted a date had not yet been set. The companies will be questioned in order to better understand how Russia used online tools and platforms to sow discord in and influence our election.”

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