Sen Richard Burr (R-NC), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Monday indicated that former FBI Director James Comey will be permitted to discuss his conversations with President Donald Trump during a public hearing on Thursday.
“He can’t talk about anything that’s classified in an open session, but I haven’t gotten any indication that he is constrained in any way, shape, or form as a public citizen,” Burr told CNN.
Asked if Comey would be able to talk about his conversations with Trump, Burr replied, “I feel certain that he can.”
Burr also said that he believes Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the Russia probe, did not bar Comey from talking about anything the FBI director had planned on revealing during the hearing.
“They’ve talked, but I understand that special counsel has not fenced him off on any way shape or form from the items he intends to talk about,” Burr told CNN when asked if Mueller had prohibited Comey from discussing the Russia probe.
The White House announced on Monday that Trump would not invoke executive privilege to block Comey from testifying on Thursday.
The senator also told CNN that former national security adviser Michael Flynn turned over some documents to the committee responding to a subpoena issues by the committee.
