President Donald Trump has asserted executive privilege over all of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigative documents sought by House Democrats, a major escalation in a conflict between the White House and Congress. “The president has asserted executive privilege over the entirety of the subpoenaed materials,” the Justice Department wrote in a letter Wednesday to House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler. “Faced with Chairman Nadler’s blatant abuse of power, and at the attorney general’s request, the President has no other option than to make a protective assertion of executive privilege,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The Justice Department told Nadler on Wednesday that it is terminating all negotiations with the panel over access to the full and unredacted Mueller report. Separately, the administration on Tuesday told former White House Counsel Don McGahn not to comply with a subpoena from House Democrats to turn over documents.

Source: National Post May 08, 2019 16:34 UTC