--- title: Sally Yates Invited to Testify in U.S. Election Russia Probe description: The House Intelligence Committee has invited the former acting attorney general to testify in its investigation into Russia canonical: https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-04-21T17:31:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:23.734Z article:section: Politics og:title: Sally Yates Invited to Testify in U.S. Election Russia Probe og:description: Yates had previously been scheduled to testify before the committee in March og:url: https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt777acc6e6d58dbe2/6988b852ab6d777d306acb2a/yates-sally.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: FILE: Acting Attorney General Orders Justice Department Not To Defend Executive Order On Immigration og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sally Yates Invited to Testify in U.S. Election Russia Probe twitter:description: Yates had previously been scheduled to testify before the committee in March twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt777acc6e6d58dbe2/6988b852ab6d777d306acb2a/yates-sally.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sally Yates Invited to Testify in Probe of Russian Interference in U.S. Election ## Video: President Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Sally Yates After She Defied Immigration Order [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Sally Yates After She Defied Immigration Order](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/U0a0DqaP.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2017-01-31. President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general of the United States after she publicly questioned the constitutionality of his refugee and immigration ban and refused to defend it in court_  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 21, 2017 5:31 PM UTC  Sally Yates speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice on June 28, 2016 in Washington, DC. Sally Yates speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice on June 28, 2016 in Washington, DC.Pete Marovich—Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Apr 21, 2017 5:31 PM UTC The House Intelligence Committee has invited former [acting attorney general Sally Yates](http://time.com/4654665/president-trump-sally-yates-immigration-order/?iid=sr-link2) to testify in its investigation into Russian interference with the U.S. election. Yates’ public hearing would be scheduled after May 2, [the Hill reported](http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/329914-house-intel-panel-invites-former-acting-ag-yates-to-testify), and former CIA director John Brennan and former director of national intelligence James Clapper have also been invited to testify. Yates had previously been scheduled to testify before the committee in March, in a hearing that was abruptly canceled by chairman Representative [Devin Nunes](http://time.com/4714523/devin-nunes-white-house-donald-trump-russia-chuck-schumer/). [Reports surfaced](http://time.com/4715101/trump-sally-yates-block-testify-congress-russia/?iid=sr-link1) at the time that the White House sought to block Yates from testifying because her testimony would cover topics “likely covered by the presidential communications privilege and possibly the deliberative process privilege.” The White House denied the claim. “The White House has taken no action to prevent Sally Yates from testifying, and the Department of Justice specifically told her that it would not stop her, and to suggest otherwise is completely irresponsible,” the Administration said in a statement. Yates, an Obama appointee, was fired by Trump in January after ordering Justice Department lawyers not to defend his initial immigration ban. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/"},"headline":"Sally Yates Invited to Testify in Probe of Russian Interference in U.S. Election","datePublished":"2017-04-21T17:31:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:54:23.734Z","description":"Yates had previously been scheduled to testify before the committee in March, in a hearing that was abruptly canceled by chairman Representative Devin Nunes","url":"https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/","keywords":["Congress","White House","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt777acc6e6d58dbe2/6988b852ab6d777d306acb2a/yates-sally.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt777acc6e6d58dbe2/6988b852ab6d777d306acb2a/yates-sally.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"FILE: Acting Attorney General Orders Justice Department Not To Defend Executive Order On Immigration","caption":"FILE: Acting Attorney General Orders Justice Department Not To Defend Executive Order On Immigration","creditText":"Pete Marovich—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/","name":"Sally Yates Invited to Testify in Probe of Russian Interference in U.S. Election"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"President Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Sally Yates After She Defied Immigration Order","description":"President Donald Trump fired the acting attorney general of the United States after she publicly questioned the constitutionality of his refugee and immigration ban and refused to defend it in court","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/U0a0DqaP/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-01-31T17:16:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/U0a0DqaP.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/","duration":"PT1M38S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4750613/house-intelligence-committee-sally-yates-testify-russia-probe/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```