US President Donald Trump will not attempt to stop former FBI director James Comey from testifying in an open hearing on Friday, the White House said today.
Principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump will not assert executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying.
"The president's power to assert executive privilege is well-established," Huckabee Sanders told reporters during the daily press briefing.
"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."
Comey's testimony will be his first public comments since Trump fired him, and he is likely to be asked about any conversations Trump may have had with him about the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
