President Donald Trump shakes hands with Attorney General William Barr in the Oval Office. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons/White House)
May 08, 2019
Hours ahead of the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, the Justice Department late Tuesday threatened to ask President Donald Trump to invoke executive privilege in a last-ditch effort to block the release of the unredacted Mueller report.
"In the face of the committee's threatened contempt vote, the Attorney General will be compelled to request that the president invoke executive privilege with respect to the materials subject to the subpoena," assistant attorney general Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) Tuesday night.
"Congress will have no choice but to confront the behavior of this lawless administration. The committee will also take a hard look at the officials who are enabling this cover up."
--Rep. Jerry Nadler
Nadler--who subpoenaed the full Mueller report and all underlying evidence last month--quickly responded that the DOJ's move is entirely "without credibility" and accused department officials of assisting a "cover up."
"In the middle of good faith negotiations with the Attorney General, the department abruptly announced that it would instead ask President Trump to invoke executive privilege on all of the materials subject to our subpoena," said Nadler. "This is, of course, not how executive privilege works. The White House waived these privileges long ago."
"Worse, this kind of obstruction is dangerous," Nadler added. "The department's decision reflects President Trump's blanket defiance of Congress's constitutionally mandated duties. In the coming days, I expect that Congress will have no choice but to confront the behavior of this lawless administration. The committee will also take a hard look at the officials who are enabling this cover up."
Nadler said the Judiciary Committee's vote on a contempt citation for Barr will continue as scheduled, despite the Justice Department's threat.
A mark-up of the citation is expected to begin Wednesday at 10:00am.
\u201cBREAKING: Wednesday at 10 a.m. @HouseJudiciary to markup contempt report for AG Barr after DOJ rejects Committee\u2019s counteroffer to view hidden sections of Special Counsel Mueller\u2019s report. \n\nhttps://t.co/BOVLeUoXpi\u201d— House Judiciary Dems (@House Judiciary Dems) 1557287067
The Justice Department's attempt to block the release of the unredacted Mueller report comes amid growing pressure on Democratic leaders to take firm and decisive action to hold Barr accountable for repeatedly defying congressional demands.
As Common Dreams reported last Thursday, progressives are calling on Congress to send Barr to jail for refusing to comply with House Democrats' subpoena and failing to testify before Congress about his widely criticized handling of the Mueller report.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote in a column last week that the House has the power to "order its own sergeant-at-arms to arrest the offender, subject him to a trial before the full House, and, if judged to be in contempt, jail that person until he appears before the House and brings whatever documentation the House has subpoenaed."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. The final deadline for our crucial Summer Campaign fundraising drive is just hours away, and we’re falling short of our must-hit goal. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Hours ahead of the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, the Justice Department late Tuesday threatened to ask President Donald Trump to invoke executive privilege in a last-ditch effort to block the release of the unredacted Mueller report.
"In the face of the committee's threatened contempt vote, the Attorney General will be compelled to request that the president invoke executive privilege with respect to the materials subject to the subpoena," assistant attorney general Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) Tuesday night.
"Congress will have no choice but to confront the behavior of this lawless administration. The committee will also take a hard look at the officials who are enabling this cover up."
--Rep. Jerry Nadler
Nadler--who subpoenaed the full Mueller report and all underlying evidence last month--quickly responded that the DOJ's move is entirely "without credibility" and accused department officials of assisting a "cover up."
"In the middle of good faith negotiations with the Attorney General, the department abruptly announced that it would instead ask President Trump to invoke executive privilege on all of the materials subject to our subpoena," said Nadler. "This is, of course, not how executive privilege works. The White House waived these privileges long ago."
"Worse, this kind of obstruction is dangerous," Nadler added. "The department's decision reflects President Trump's blanket defiance of Congress's constitutionally mandated duties. In the coming days, I expect that Congress will have no choice but to confront the behavior of this lawless administration. The committee will also take a hard look at the officials who are enabling this cover up."
Nadler said the Judiciary Committee's vote on a contempt citation for Barr will continue as scheduled, despite the Justice Department's threat.
A mark-up of the citation is expected to begin Wednesday at 10:00am.
\u201cBREAKING: Wednesday at 10 a.m. @HouseJudiciary to markup contempt report for AG Barr after DOJ rejects Committee\u2019s counteroffer to view hidden sections of Special Counsel Mueller\u2019s report. \n\nhttps://t.co/BOVLeUoXpi\u201d— House Judiciary Dems (@House Judiciary Dems) 1557287067
The Justice Department's attempt to block the release of the unredacted Mueller report comes amid growing pressure on Democratic leaders to take firm and decisive action to hold Barr accountable for repeatedly defying congressional demands.
As Common Dreams reported last Thursday, progressives are calling on Congress to send Barr to jail for refusing to comply with House Democrats' subpoena and failing to testify before Congress about his widely criticized handling of the Mueller report.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote in a column last week that the House has the power to "order its own sergeant-at-arms to arrest the offender, subject him to a trial before the full House, and, if judged to be in contempt, jail that person until he appears before the House and brings whatever documentation the House has subpoenaed."
Hours ahead of the House Judiciary Committee's scheduled vote to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress, the Justice Department late Tuesday threatened to ask President Donald Trump to invoke executive privilege in a last-ditch effort to block the release of the unredacted Mueller report.
"In the face of the committee's threatened contempt vote, the Attorney General will be compelled to request that the president invoke executive privilege with respect to the materials subject to the subpoena," assistant attorney general Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) Tuesday night.
"Congress will have no choice but to confront the behavior of this lawless administration. The committee will also take a hard look at the officials who are enabling this cover up."
--Rep. Jerry Nadler
Nadler--who subpoenaed the full Mueller report and all underlying evidence last month--quickly responded that the DOJ's move is entirely "without credibility" and accused department officials of assisting a "cover up."
"In the middle of good faith negotiations with the Attorney General, the department abruptly announced that it would instead ask President Trump to invoke executive privilege on all of the materials subject to our subpoena," said Nadler. "This is, of course, not how executive privilege works. The White House waived these privileges long ago."
"Worse, this kind of obstruction is dangerous," Nadler added. "The department's decision reflects President Trump's blanket defiance of Congress's constitutionally mandated duties. In the coming days, I expect that Congress will have no choice but to confront the behavior of this lawless administration. The committee will also take a hard look at the officials who are enabling this cover up."
Nadler said the Judiciary Committee's vote on a contempt citation for Barr will continue as scheduled, despite the Justice Department's threat.
A mark-up of the citation is expected to begin Wednesday at 10:00am.
\u201cBREAKING: Wednesday at 10 a.m. @HouseJudiciary to markup contempt report for AG Barr after DOJ rejects Committee\u2019s counteroffer to view hidden sections of Special Counsel Mueller\u2019s report. \n\nhttps://t.co/BOVLeUoXpi\u201d— House Judiciary Dems (@House Judiciary Dems) 1557287067
The Justice Department's attempt to block the release of the unredacted Mueller report comes amid growing pressure on Democratic leaders to take firm and decisive action to hold Barr accountable for repeatedly defying congressional demands.
As Common Dreams reported last Thursday, progressives are calling on Congress to send Barr to jail for refusing to comply with House Democrats' subpoena and failing to testify before Congress about his widely criticized handling of the Mueller report.
Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich wrote in a column last week that the House has the power to "order its own sergeant-at-arms to arrest the offender, subject him to a trial before the full House, and, if judged to be in contempt, jail that person until he appears before the House and brings whatever documentation the House has subpoenaed."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.