Trump claimed executive privilege over the full Mueller report, and his administration hasn’t ruled out trying to use privilege to stop special counsel Robert Mueller from testifying before Congress
The White House has begun to turn to executive privilege to stop the flow of any further information from the Mueller report. On Wednesday, President Trump claimed executive privilege over the full Mueller report and its underlying documents, and his administration hasn’t ruled out trying to use privilege to stop special counsel Robert Mueller from testifying before Congress.
So, what is executive privilege and how does it work?
Executive privilege is invoked by the president to allow the executive branch to resist revealing information to other branches of government. It’s not a power explicitly outlined in the Constitution, but it is considered inherent in the doctrine of separation of powers.
A claim of executive privilege is generally on its strongest footing when invoked in the interest of national security, though presidents have attempted to use it more broadly. The circumstances under which a president can claim privilege were narrowed in 1974 in a Supreme Court case involving the Watergate scandal. When the special prosecutor investigating the case against President Nixon subpoenaed audio tapes of conversations Nixon had recorded — after several of his aides had been indicted in the affair — Nixon tried to quash the subpoena by asserting executive privilege.
