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Trump invokes ‘privilege’ over the full Mueller report
Associated Press ^ | May 8, 2019 | Mary Clare Jalonick and Lisa Mascaro

Posted on 05/08/2019 9:16:19 AM PDT by Olog-hai

The White House invoked executive privilege Wednesday, claiming the right to block lawmakers from the full report from special counsel Robert Mueller on his Trump-Russia probe and escalating the battle between President Donald Trump and Congress.

The administration’s decision was announced just as the House Judiciary Committee was gaveling in to consider holding Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress over failure to release the full report.

Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York declared the action by Trump’s Justice Department was a clear new sign of the president’s “blanket defiance” of Congress’ constitutional rights. “Every day we learn of new efforts by this administration to stonewall Congress,” Nadler said. “This is unprecedented.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the action was rather a response to the “blatant abuse of power” by Democratic Rep. Nadler.

“Neither the White House nor Attorney General Barr will comply with Chairman Nadler’s unlawful and reckless demands,” she said. …

(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Editorial; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: barr; executiveprivilege; mueller; muellerreport; nadler; sanders; tds; witchhunt
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To: A strike
It should have just been blasted out that what the House Dems were demanding IS illegal.

Read the letter that was sent from the White House counsel to Congress over this matter. That's exactly what the letter says.

21 posted on 05/08/2019 9:42:32 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.")
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To: A strike
"Neither the White House nor Attorney General Barr will comply with Chairman Nadler’s unlawful and reckless demands." -- White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders (today)
22 posted on 05/08/2019 9:43:58 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.")
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To: gathersnomoss
I thought Barr didn't have to release any of the report. Instead, he's being condemned by the Democrat/Left for not releasing a few lines of text (in accordance with regulations passed by Congress; not as a result of any "executive privilege").
23 posted on 05/08/2019 9:45:51 AM PDT by glennaro
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To: Alberta's Child

Yes, but executive privilege did not need to be invoked to refuse any further release. This just looks like the coverup the Dems have been claiming all along.


24 posted on 05/08/2019 9:46:29 AM PDT by A strike (Import third world become third world)
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To: outpostinmass2
The only court that can rule against executive privilege is the Supreme court. Good luck.

It'll wind up there eventually but a lower court judge can rule on executive privilege question in this matter. That's how it will wind up at the Supreme Court.

25 posted on 05/08/2019 9:46:50 AM PDT by DoodleDawg
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To: A strike

They want executive privilege to be a cornerstone of the scotus case when it gets there


26 posted on 05/08/2019 9:49:14 AM PDT by xzins (Retired US Army chaplain. Support our troops by praying for their victory.)
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To: xzins

The case would never even get to SCOTUS.

Can you see any court ordering the Atty Gen to break the law that Congress itself had passed?


27 posted on 05/08/2019 9:55:09 AM PDT by A strike (Import third world become third world)
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To: A strike

“...It should have just been blasted out that what the House Dems were demanding IS illegal....”

The RATS are the epitome of “illegal”...if it suits their end, breaking the law is OK. So many examples of this. I think the bottom line is that no matter what Trump/Barr do, the RATS will be running around in their maze of unreality lying and screaming about something. They are, and have, nothing else. Anti-American empty useless suits.


28 posted on 05/08/2019 9:56:44 AM PDT by EagleUSA
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To: A strike

Of course they will. Judges are politicians. They will use gobbledygook interpretations of “AG discretion.”


29 posted on 05/08/2019 9:59:58 AM PDT by xzins (Retired US Army chaplain. Support our troops by praying for their victory.)
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To: gathersnomoss

The problem is that they don’t want to look at it in a controlled environment or even see the less redacted copy. They want a physical un-redacted copy. That way they can leak it. Once the redacted names and grand jury information are out of the bottle there is no putting them back in. Their lunatic supporters will go after the names in the report. They are completely lawless.


30 posted on 05/08/2019 10:00:23 AM PDT by Tennessee Conservative
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To: A strike
Yes, but executive privilege did not need to be invoked to refuse any further release.

There are lawyers much smarter than me involved in this process, and I can almost guarantee that it was NECESSARY to invoke executive privilege in this case.

When a governing body with the authority to issue a subpoena does so, the recipient is obligated to either answer the subpoena or assert a legal reason -- usually a privilege enshrined in the law -- not to do so. A typical response in a legal proceeding would have been to assert that the requested information was covered under lawyer-client privilege (for example).

So the DOJ could have:

1. Provided the information to Congress.

2. Ignored the subpoena.

3. Refused to provide the information, while giving a reason that had no basis in law.

4. Asserted a legal privilege in refusing to turn over the information.

I'm not sure exactly what your point is here. Option 1 was off the table because it would be illegal. So which of the three remaining options would NOT have "looked like the coverup the Dems have been claiming all along?"

31 posted on 05/08/2019 10:02:48 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("Out on the road today I saw a Deadhead sticker on a Cadillac.")
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To: A strike

What the hell do you, or anyone, think is being covered up? It’s about as covered up as a Playboy Bunny wearing socks.


32 posted on 05/08/2019 10:06:33 AM PDT by Flash Bazbeaux
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To: EagleUSA

Barr offered for them to review and take notes and they refused that offer.

Dems are claiming Barr obstructing because he won’t go to a Judge and get the un-redacted report released.

Just heard on FoxNews that when Barr walked into cabinet meeting this am he got a standing ovation.


33 posted on 05/08/2019 10:17:11 AM PDT by Engedi (ui)
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To: Alberta's Child

Barr offered Nadler and his team to review 198 pages of the 400 plus report in SKIFF and be able to take notes. They refused.


34 posted on 05/08/2019 10:18:52 AM PDT by Engedi (ui)
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To: Flash Bazbeaux

I don’t think anything is being covered up, but that hasn’t stopped the Dems from screaming coverup from the outset. pay attn


35 posted on 05/08/2019 10:29:34 AM PDT by A strike (Import third world become third world)
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To: Steve_Seattle
This seems unnecessary.

From one point of view, I agree. But from another, I can see the reason.

There's no point in having a contempt hearing over whether or not Barr is releasing documents once the President has declared them shielded under Executive Privilege. No matter the merit of the assertion, it's got to go through the President and the Courts just to break the Executive Privilege. The beef is now with the President, not Barr.

I see it as the President supporting a key employee and member of the Executive Branch.

36 posted on 05/08/2019 10:32:37 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine ( "It's always a party when you're eating the seed corn.")
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To: Alberta's Child

Your reason #3 is applicable in this case: that the law prohibits any further release.

That is so glaringly true that even the diehard Leftist press could not refute it.


37 posted on 05/08/2019 10:35:09 AM PDT by A strike (Import third world become third world)
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To: Engedi

Democrats Accuse AG Barr of Doing Exactly What Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch Did for Obama

AG Barr doesn't suffer fools or their....


38 posted on 05/08/2019 10:37:53 AM PDT by yoe
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To: Pearls Before Swine

....”I see it as the President supporting a key employee and member of the Executive Branch”....

Nadler wants Barr ‘to break the law’ by releasing Grand Jury information which has to (by law) be redacted. Trumps protecting the cases and people of ongoing investigations and protecting those laws.

Nadlers A fraud and a total embarrassment to our Great Republic.


39 posted on 05/08/2019 10:38:05 AM PDT by caww
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To: A strike; Steve_Seattle; EagleUSA
IMO invoking executive privilege is a very stupid move in this case. It enables the Dems and their Leftist media accomplices to now further claim a coverup, which too many not paying attention people would find plausable.

I wholeheartedly disagree. The damage of a trumpeted contempt citation against AG Barr would be a higher price to pay than defending the privilege claim. The mediots are going to push the dem party line anyway, so...

It should have just been blasted out that what the House Dems were demanding IS illegal.

The "blast" would be deflected by the mediots' rantings, IMO. Now, should the dems decide to pursue a lawsuit against the privilege claim, they will have to answer for their demands that AG Barr violate law in a court. It's very black and white - I do not see how they can justify it legally. Even the Watergate grand jury information was only released under court order - and the dems have failed to pursue such a court order.

Also, consider that tweet storms from President Trump are only so useful in getting his enemies to back down. Under the privilege claim, they will have to fight a protracted battle in the courts to invalidate their own laws, which serves the dems' interests much less than getting AG Barr to violate the law.

President Trump does not play the Washington DC game. He protects his people, when they do their job. AG Barr is doing his job very well at the moment, IMHO.

40 posted on 05/08/2019 10:40:25 AM PDT by MortMan (Americans are a people increasingly separated by our connectivity.)
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