Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, indicated Monday that it’s still not clear whether Trump will assert his executive privilege to prevent former FBI Director James Comey from testifying in the Senate on Thursday.
“The president will make that final decision,” Conway said on NBC. “But if Mr. Comey does testify, we’ll be watching with everyone else.”
Does WH plan to exert executive privilege or any other legal maneuver to prevent [Comey] testimony? @savannahguthrie to @kellyannepolls pic.twitter.com/bbPsuCkHla— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 5, 2017
Conway was responding to a question about whether the president plans to invoke executive privilege to block the former FBI director, who Trump fired last month, from testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee later this week.
Two senior administration officials told the New York Times last week that the president appears unlikely to block Comey from testifying. But Conway’s answer indicated that it was still possible for Trump to take that step, and that he had not yet decided what to do.
If he does appear before the committee, Comey is expected to discuss his conversations with Trump, including one where the president reportedly pressured Comey to end the FBI’s investigation into ties between his campaign associates and Russia. Comey reportedly memorialized his conversations with Trump in memos, and lawmakers have asked him to provide those memos.
If Trump does invoke executive privilege, it could be challenged in court.
