Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) grilled National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers on Wednesday after he repeatedly refused to answer the Senate Intelligence Committee's questions about his conversations with President Trump regarding the Russia probe. After Rogers declined to provide details on his private talks with Trump, King demanded an explanation. "Why are you not answering these questions? Is there an invocation by the president of the United States of executive privilege? Is there or not?" King asked.
Rogers insisted there was no invocation of executive privilege, but said he was staying mum because he felt it was inappropriate to answer the questions. "What you feel isn't relevant, admiral," King responded, arguing that if there was no legal justification for silence then Rogers ought to answer the questions.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
National Intelligence Director Dan Coats and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe were also subjected to King's brutal line of questioning for their similar refusals to talk about their discussions with Trump. When King pressed Coats for the legal basis of his refusal, Coats admitted, "I'm not sure I have a legal basis." McCabe similarly struggled to explain his legal reasoning for not answering.
Watch King's questioning below. Becca Stanek
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Why the Gorton and Denton by-election is a ‘Frankenstein’s monster’Talking Point Reform and the Greens have the Labour seat in their sights, but the constituency’s complex demographics make messaging tricky
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
-
Fed holds rates steady, bucking Trump pressureSpeed Read The Federal Reserve voted to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged
-
Judge slams ICE violations amid growing backlashSpeed Read ‘ICE is not a law unto itself,’ said a federal judge after the agency violated at least 96 court orders
-
Rep. Ilhan Omar attacked with unknown liquidSpeed Read This ‘small agitator isn’t going to intimidate me from doing my work’
-
Democrats pledge Noem impeachment if not firedSpeed Read Trump is publicly defending the Homeland Security secretary
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
