has stretched the privilege claims beyond anything previously attempted
Trump admin. invokes privilege again, blocks intel committees from Mueller docs
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-admin-invokes-privilege-again-blocks-intel-committees-from-mueller-docs/ar-AAEwKSB?ocid=st
The Trump administration has been quietly engaged in an escalating tug-of-war with the House and Senate intelligence committees over sensitive documents from the special counsel’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, the latest in a series of attempts to stymie Congress with claims of executive privilege, sources have told ABC News.
Critics of the White House say the effort amounts to stonewalling, and while untested in the courts, has stretched the privilege claims beyond anything previously attempted.
“The scope of confidentiality interests being asserted by the executive branch is breathtaking,” said Andrew M. Wright, an expert on executive privilege who served as a congressional investigator and as a White House attorney in two Democratic administrations. “And the lack of accommodation and compromise.”
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Trump administration attorneys declined to comment on the matter, and the Department of Justice has not responded to questions. Experts said the response was part of a pattern.
“The way the administration has been using executive privilege has been extraordinary,” said Steven Schwinn, a professor at the John Marshall Law School and a co-founder and co-editor of the Constitutional Law Prof Blog. “It’s a level of non-cooperation with Congress that has been striking. We’ve never seen it to this degree.”
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This latest stalemate – over sensitive materials gathered in connection with the 2016 elections -- has frustrated leaders on the intelligence committees, sources told ABC News. In part, that is because the committees have sweeping oversight powers when it comes to the secretive agencies. The National Security Act says “congressional intelligence committees [must] be kept fully and currently informed of all intelligence activities.”
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