June 5 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump will not try to block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying in the Senate this week, the White House said Monday.
The president won't invoke executive privilege in an effort to keep Comey from discussing the Russia investigation before the Senate Committee on Intelligence, Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the daily briefing Monday.
"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," she said.
The former bureau chief is scheduled to appear before the Senate panel on Thursday, where he is expected to be asked about his discussions with Trump regarding the investigation of Russia's reputed interference in last year's election.
Comey was fired May 9 as he was involved in the Justice Department's inquiry into the Russian case. Trump said the firing was a result of recommendations by both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein.
Following Comey's firing last month, it was reported that he'd written memos about all of his meetings with Trump -- and that during one, the president asked the FBI to drop its investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
After the Senate appointed former FBI head Robert Mueller as a special investigator in the case, Comey received a subpoena to testify.
