Trump Won't Try to Stop Comey's Testimony

The nation will get to hear James Comey testify this week. A White House spokesperson said Monday that President Trump won't try to invoke executive privilege to keep the FBI chief he fired from appearing before a Senate panel on Thursday, reports the Washington Post. The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to ask Comey about his private conversations with the president, including one of a potential bombshell variety: a private dinner at which Trump allegedly asked Comey to ease up on the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

"The president's power to assert executive privilege is well established," deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday. “However, in order to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of the facts sought by the Senate Intelligence Committee, President Trump will not assert executive privilege regarding James Comey's scheduled testimony.” Given Trump's many public tweets about his conversations with Comey, successfully invoking executive privilege in the name of government secrecy would have been a long shot anyway, notes the Hill. (More James Comey stories.)