Even some of President Donald Trump‘s allies have urged him to stop tweeting about legal issues, but that may not stop the president from sounding off on Thursday.
Trump may tweet while former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, The Washington Post‘s Robert Costa reported Tuesday.
Trump “does not plan to put down Twitter” and “may live tweet if he feels the need to respond” to the testimony, according to Costa, who cited two White House sources.
Comey will likely be grilled about reports that Trump attempted to influence an FBI probe into ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn. Comey’s statements could prompt the famously defensive Trump to tweet in response.
Trump on Tuesday defended his use of Twitter to put out impromptu statements, saying it helps him get out an “honest and unfiltered message.” He claimed that large news outlets — which he regularly labels the “fake” mainstream media — did not want him to use social media.
Trump’s lawyers and some of his advisors have tried to rein in his Twitter activity because his tweets sometimes contradict other administration statements or even undercut its legal arguments. The latest instance of the latter came Monday, when Trump fired off a series of tweets attacking his Justice Department for submitting a “watered down” version of his “travel ban” for review by the Supreme Court.
Prominent lawyer and Trump supporter George Conway argued Monday that Trump’s tweets can “seriously undermine” his agenda and that his backers need to “reinforce” that.
On Thursday, Comey will speak to an open hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee followed by a closed session. The hearing is part of the panel’s probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Trump fired Comey as the then-FBI director was leading an investigation into those possible links.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment on this story.