5/7/2019

ATTORNEY GENERAL/DEMS/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Justice Department is preparing to ask the White House to invoke executive privilege over special counsel Robert Mueller’s entire report and underlying evidence, a defensive move the night before Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee are set to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt for refusing to make the report’s full contents available to Congress…The Justice Department’s latest move comes despite the fact that at least two lawmakers — Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — have already viewed a less-redacted version of Mueller’s report than the one Barr made public last month. Boyd emphasized that Trump has not yet asserted executive privilege but said Barr will urge the president to make a ‘protective’ assertion of privilege if the committee proceeds with its contempt vote against Barr for defying the panel’s subpoena for the full Mueller report and underlying evidence. An invocation of executive privilege by the White House could tie up Democrats’ efforts to gain access to the report in litigation and negotiations that could drag for months or even years.”

Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney, “Dems moving forward with Barr contempt vote after DOJ talks break down,” Politico, May 7, 2019 11:38 pm