President Trump won't block Comey from talking to Congress

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NEWS) - President Donald Trump will not block former FBI Director James Comey from testifying before Congress, according to the White House.

At a White House briefing Monday, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that the president will not invoke executive privilege to stop the fired FBI chief from speaking to the Senate intelligence committee, although she pointed out that a president's right to assert privilege is "well-established." Sanders said that the president wants a "swift and thorough examination of the facts."

Senate and House panels are probing Russia's possible interference into the 2016 president election and whether the Trump campaign was a part of that effort.

The FBI is also investigating alleged election interference as well as any contact Trump campaign and administration staffers had with Russian officials.

Shortly after taking office in January, Trump allegedly asked for Comey's "loyalty," according to reports. Some of Comey's associates alleged that Trump asked the FBI director to drop the probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The White House has denied that.

Trump abruptly fired Comey in May. After the fallout from that firing, the U.S. Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III as special counsel to oversee the FBI's Russia investigation.

Comey is set to appear on Capitol Hill Thursday.

Trump has yet to name a new FBI director.