REPORT: The White House Sought To Block Former Acting AG Sally Yates From Testifying On Russia

The Washington Post reports:

The Trump administration sought to block former acting attorney general Sally Yates from testifying to Congress in the House investigation of links between Russian officials and Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, The Washington Post has learned, a position that is likely to further anger Democrats who have accused Republicans of trying to damage the inquiry.

According to letters The Post reviewed, the Justice Department notified Yates earlier this month that the administration considers a great deal of her possible testimony to be barred from discussion in a congressional hearing because the topics are covered by the presidential communication privilege.

Yates and other former intelligence officials had been asked to testify before the House Intelligence Committee this week, a hearing that Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) abruptly canceled. Yates was the deputy attorney general in the final years of the Obama administration, and served as the acting attorney general in the first days of the Trump administration.

Sean Spicer this afternoon denounced the above report as “100% false.”

Press Secretary Spicer on former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates: “I hope she testifies. I look forward to it” https://t.co/YJOwBgYWKO

— NBC News (@NBCNews) March 28, 2017

In gaggle, Nunes would NOT say if the WH asked him to scrap the hearing to prevent Sally Yates from testifying

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 28, 2017