Trump Administration Tried To Prevent Sally Yates From Testifying: Reports

The Department of Justice tried to prevent Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, from testifying in the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russian efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election, according to the Washington Post and later confirmed by CBS.

Yates had warned the White House in January that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn had made false statements about his communications with Russia, as the Post previously reported. She was subsequently fired by President Trump for refusing to defend his immigration ban executive order in court.

In a series of letters, the Justice Department argued that Yates should not testify because the information she could provide the committee was covered by presidential communications privilege, the Post found. In response, Yates' attorney argued that the White House had already waived its privilege on this matter and that she would not discuss any currently classified information.

But by the time Yates' attorney had sent the last letter, the paper writes, Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, canceled Yates' public testimony.

Read the full story at the Washington Post>>

After the Post published the story, the White House issued the following statement: "The Washington Post story is entirely false. The White House has taken no action to prevent Sally Yates from testifying and the Department of Justice specifically told her that it would not stop her and to suggest otherwise is completely irresponsible."

However, CBS later confirmed the reports in the Post, publishing a image of one of the letters in on Twitter:

The letter appears to support the Post's story, as it says that some of Yates' communications as acting attorney general are covered by presidential privilege and that she must consult with the White House if she were to share these communications in her testimony.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in his briefing Tuesday that he would be happy for Yates to testify.

Photo by Pete Marovich/Getty Images News/Getty Images