[ti:Trump Will Not Block Former FBI Director's Senate Testimony] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Aides to President Donald Trump say he will not stop James Comey [00:06.76]from speaking to members of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. [00:15.52]Comey is the former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). [00:21.16]Committee members want to question him about his talks with Trump [00:27.12]before the president ordered his dismissal. [00:31.76]President Trump had been considering whether to say their discussions should be kept secret [00:39.72]under the legal doctrine of "executive privilege." [00:45.66]In the past, other presidents have claimed executive privilege [00:51.44]to keep their discussions with top aides secret. [00:56.44]But if Trump had tried to do so with Comey, [01:01.04]it would have caused many people to think that the administration was [01:07.32]trying to hide information about the Russia investigation. [01:12.80]And political observers believe courts would not have supported Trump's claim. [01:21.52]Presidential spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters [01:27.16]the Trump administration wants a quick and complete examination of the facts. [01:35.32]Political observers say Comey's statements to the committee could harm the president. [01:43.00]Comey was leading the FBI investigation of Russian involvement [01:49.44]in the 2016 elections at the time of his dismissal. [01:55.88]He was also investigating possible illegal contacts [02:01.28]between Trump campaign workers and Russian interests. [02:07.16]The Russians are accused of helping Trump, [02:11.04]the Republican presidential candidate, [02:14.76]defeat the Democratic Party's candidate, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. [02:23.48]Speaking to a reporter, the president said [02:26.92]he was thinking about the investigation into Russian involvement [02:32.40]when he decided to dismiss the FBI director. [02:38.04]Comey was in the fourth year of a 10-year term [02:43.04]as head of the country's top criminal investigative agency. [02:49.12]Trump has often criticized the FBI and congressional investigations [02:56.12]of possible Russian interference in the election. [03:01.04]He has accused Democratic Party activists of using reports of [03:07.56]Russian involvement to explain Clinton's loss in the elections. [03:14.52]A few days after Comey's dismissal, people close to him told reporters that [03:21.64]he kept detailed notes of his meetings with the president. [03:27.44]They say Trump asked during one of the meetings for Comey [03:32.84]to promise he would be loyal to him. [03:37.48]They said the FBI director would not do so. [03:43.84]People close to Comey also said [03:47.84]Trump asked him to stop the investigation of Michael Flynn. [03:53.88]Flynn, a retired Army general, served for just 24 days [04:01.24]as Trump's national security adviser before being fired in February. [04:09.40]U.S. eavesdropping showed Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence [04:16.40]about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. [04:21.88]before Trump took office in January. [04:26.08]People close to Comey said Trump asked the FBI director to stop [04:32.16]his investigation of Flynn the day after Flynn was dismissed. [04:38.96]The same people have told American media that Comey believed Trump [04:45.36]was trying to pressure him in an unacceptable way. [04:51.64]Observers say Comey will probably be asked [04:56.10]if that is true when he speaks to the Senate committee. [05:01.96]The Department of Justice named a former FBI director -- Robert Mueller [05:08.40]-- to lead a criminal investigation of the possible illegal contacts [05:14.96]between Trump aides and Russians. [05:19.12]That investigation has just begun. [05:23.36]Trump opposed the decision to open such an investigation. [05:29.76]In addition to Mueller's investigation, [05:33.04]the Senate Intelligence Committee and three other congressional committees [05:39.32]are studying whether Russia interfered with the election. [05:45.88]The investigations were launched after U.S. intelligence agencies said [05:52.04]that Russians attacked the computers of the Democratic National Committee last year. [05:59.52]They said the Russians were trying to damage Clinton's presidential campaign. [06:07.12]Russian President Vladimir Putin has said [06:11.60]there is no evidence of Russian involvement in the election. [06:17.88]I'm Anne Ball. [06:19.60]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM