White House Says It's Fake News: Denies Claims That Former Attorney-General Sally Yates’ Testimony Was Blocked

[SirLinksALot]

SOURCE: NBC NEWS

URL: http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/white-house-denies-some-democrats-claims-former-ag-yates-testimony-n739511

by BENJY SARLIN


Several Democrats expressed outrage on Monday after letters surfaced that they said suggested the White House tried to prevent former acting Attorney General Sally Yates from testifying before a House Intelligence Committee in its probe of connections between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

"It sounds like an effort to try and muzzle persons who have information and the ability to shed light on this investigation," Rep. Jackie Speier, D-California, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, told MSNBC.

White House officials deny such claims and say the administration never sought to block Yates from testifying.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer called the assertion "100 percent false" during Tuesday's press briefing.

"I hope she testifies," Spicer said adding he is "looking forward to it".

House Intelligence chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Califonia, also denied the claims and added that the committee still planned to question her at some point.

"Neither Chairman Nunes nor any Intelligence Committee staff members had any communication with the White House whatsoever about Sally Yates testifying to the Committee," Nunes said in a statement. "The only person the Committee has spoken to about her appearing before the Committee has been her lawyer. The Committee asked her to testify on our own accord and we still intend to have her speak to us."

Yates was fired by President Trump in January after refusing to defend the administration's executive order barring travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

Yates, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper — all former Obama-administration appointees — were set to appear for public hearings on Tuesday on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

However, Nunes abruptly cancelled that session, over the objections of Democrats. Instead, FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers were asked to return to the Hill to testify in a closed session on that date.

Ultimately, that meeting, too, was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict and will be rescheduled.

Nunes has also scrapped the rest of the committee's meetings this week.

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[Victoria33]

@SirLinksALot

I know nothing about Nunes, but he is acting very strangely.  He rushed to Trump with information he got, then after a news conference of sorts, cancelled various meetings, went underground and isn't coming out.  He was part of the transition team and it is those who were/are/maybe being investigated.  He needs to recuse himself and Ryan replace him.  The Senate is also investigating this, so maybe their committee will do justice to this inquiry.

[SirLinksALot]

@SirLinksALot
  He needs to recuse himself and Ryan replace him.  The Senate is also investigating this, so maybe their committee will do justice to this inquiry.

Why should Nunes recuse himself and not Adam Schiff?

Schiff has no problem with intel leaks to the New York Times, but an intelligence committee chairman giving the President a heads-up that his transition team was in fact caught up in surveillance by his own government is out of bounds?

Schiff has had no problem in himself acting as a surrogate for Team Obama or Team Hillary.

This is the very same Schiff who called the heroes who fought off terrorists from the roof of the CIA annex in Benghazi liars for their account of the Obama/Clinton administration’s denying security improvements, ignoring warnings of the attack, and the issuance of a stand-down order for any rescue, an order they ignored.

[Emjay]

@SirLinksALot

I know nothing about Nunes, but he is acting very strangely.  He rushed to Trump with information he got, then after a news conference of sorts, cancelled various meetings, went underground and isn't coming out.  He was part of the transition team and it is those who were/are/maybe being investigated.  He needs to recuse himself and Ryan replace him.  The Senate is also investigating this, so maybe their committee will do justice to this inquiry.

Nunes is the latest shiny new object that the Dems have decided to target.  He is investigating stuff they don't want investigated and he is good at it.

Anyone who wants Ryan to replace Nunes is allied with Schumer, Waters and all that crowd.

Ryan is out of the loop on all of this and he's not too popular right now anyway.

We CANNOT let them drive Nunes out.  We should certainly be the ones supporting him as he has enemies galore on the left.

[Emjay]

Why should Nunes recuse himself and not Adam Schiff?

Schiff has no problem with intel leaks to the New York Times, but an intelligence committee chairman giving the President a heads-up that his transition team was in fact caught up in surveillance by his own government is out of bounds?

Schiff has had no problem in himself acting as a surrogate for Team Obama or Team Hillary.

This is the very same Schiff who called the heroes who fought off terrorists from the roof of the CIA annex in Benghazi liars for their account of the Obama/Clinton administration’s denying security improvements, ignoring warnings of the attack, and the issuance of a stand-down order for any rescue, an order they ignored.

Schiff is a low life ... the kind of person who could only be tolerated by democrats.  His actions during Benghazi should assure he is never taken seriously again.

The dems think leaking to the NY Times is perfectly fine.

[ABX]

I have a feeling there is a lot of fake coming out of all sides on this and most other issues.

[Emjay]

I have a feeling there is a lot of fake coming out of all sides on this and most other issues.

I have a feeling that the Dems are doing a full court press right now to try and undermine and damage the Trump administration.

They think if they can just add Nunes to their little collection, along with Flynn and serious damage to KellyAnn and others, they can gain serious momentum against Trump.

I don't intend to help them.