Trump shields Mueller report

Executive privilege used to block Congress

WASHINGTON• President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report Wednesday, his first use of the executive authority in the escalating confrontation with Congress.

The move came just hours before the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over the unredacted report. Democrats have been trying to review Mueller’s material — and determine whether they should impeach the president — by examining the evidence the special counsel gathered over his two-year investigation.

But the Justice Department has refused to relinquish that information, despite a congressional subpoena. The Trump Administration cited legal reasons for declining the request and has questioned whether Democrats’ motives constitute “legitimate oversight.”

“As we have repeatedly explained, the Attorney General could not comply with your subpoena in its current form without violating the law, court rules, and court orders, and without threatening the independence of the Department of Justice’s prosecutorial functions,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to Congress, formally asserting executive privilege.

The White House’s use of the rare presidential secrecy prerogative stood in stark contrast to Trump and his allies’ frequent boast of “total exoneration” for the president from the Mueller report. Democrats have argued that if Trump really had nothing to hide, he and Barr wouldn’t be blocking so many of their investigations.

Democrats assailed Trump officials and accused the White House of trying to hide the truth from the public.

“This decision represents a clear escalation in the Trump administration’s blanket defiance of Congress’s constitutionally mandated duties,” Nadler said.

The move against Barr represented just the second time in history that a sitting attorney general would be held in contempt of Congress; the Republican-led House admonished Attorney General Eric Holder in 2012 over his failure to provide documents to Congress.

William Barr