White House: Trump will not try to stop Comey testimony by asserting executive privilege

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump will not attempt to stop former FBI director James Comey from testifying in an open hearing Thursday, the White House said Monday.

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.

Comey reportedly wrote memos describing conversations with Trump before he was fired in which Trump asked him to "let this go," referring to the Russia investigation.

Earlier, the White House had said that Trump was considering the use of executive privilege to halt Comey's testimony.