CONGRESS/DEMS/HOUSE OF REPS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump’s wholesale refusal to provide information to Congress threatens to upend the delicate balance that is the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution. Earlier administrations fought isolated skirmishes over congressional subpoenas. Mr. Trump, by contrast, has declared an all-out war on efforts by House Democrats to look into his official conduct and business dealings. And that has legal experts across the ideological spectrum warning that the president’s categorical opposition to what he sees as partisan meddling could create a constitutional crisis — an impasse that the allocation of interlocking powers and responsibilities by the framers cannot solve…The framers did not anticipate every problem, and they did not directly address this one. The Constitution says nothing about congressional power to investigate the executive branch. Nor does it say anything about the president’s right to keep secrets from Congress. But the Supreme Court has said that both things are inherent in the responsibilities the Constitution gave to the executive and legislative branches. Congress must be able to obtain information to help it perform its responsibilities. But the executive branch cannot function without some ability to keep presidential deliberations secret.”
–Adam Liptak, “Clash Between Trump and House Democrats Poses Threat to Constitutional Order,” The New York Times online, May 7, 2019