Trump won't use executive privilege to block Comey testimony
Former FBI Director James Comey
President Donald Trump won’t assert executive privilege to block fired FBI director James Comey from testifying before a congressional committee on Thursday.
Principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders made the announcement during the daily press briefing on Monday, report the Washington Post (sub. req.) and the New York Times.
Sanders said the president’s power to assert executive privilege “is well established” but Trump won’t assert it. The aim is “to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of the facts sought by the Senate Intelligence Committee.”
A president’s right to assert confidentiality in internal executive branch communications isn’t absolute, according to the New York Times. If the Justice Department were to seek a restraining order to assert the privilege, a judge would have to weigh the president’s interest in privacy against Congress’ need for the information, said Ohio State law professor Peter Shane, who previously spoke with the Times.
Past press reports have indicated that Trump reportedly asked Comey to drop the FBI investigation into Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Comey is likely to be asked about that reported conversation.
Typo corrected at 3:05 p.m.
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