Democrats were hoping to hold Barr hostage over the Mueller report, but President Trump put a quick end to that nonsense.
Rather than allow Democrats to hold Barr in contempt for not releasing an unredacted version of the Mueller report, Trump has invoked his right to executive privilege to block the release of the unredacted report and supporting documentation.
Protecting Barr
This move is not going to play out well for Trump in the media or with Democrats, but it does make sense.
Democrats were not going to let up on Barr and are in the process of holding a hearing right no to vote on whether or not to hold Barr in contempt.
Some Democrats, like Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) wanted to slap Barr with inherent contempt, which would have meant forcibly dragging him before Congress to answer their questions.
Rep. Nadler (D-NY) was even tossing the idea around of a $20,000/day fine.
Barr had agreed to let Democrats see some of the redacted portions of the report but seemed hesitant to reveal it all.
This was more than likely to protect Grand Jury testimony, as is mandated by the law.
In an effort to put a halt to the political theater that has been going on for the last two weeks, Trump has involved executive privilege.
The White House released the following statement:
“The Attorney General has been transparent and accommodating throughout this process, including by releasing the no-collusion, no-conspiracy, no-obstruction Mueller report to the public and offering to testify before the Committee.
“These attempts to work with the Committee have been flatly rejected.
“They didn’t like the results of the report, and now they want a redo.
“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.”
Firing Back at Dems
The White House and the Justice Department have been on the defensive for the most part of the last two weeks, but that all changed on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
Now, the administration is in a full-frontal assault on Congress and its overreach and abuse of power.
Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter to Nadler, stating, “We are disappointed that you have rejected the Department of Justice’s request to delay the vote of the Committee on the Judiciary on a contempt finding against the Attorney General this morning.
“Unfortunately, rather than allowing negotiations to continue, you scheduled an unnecessary contempt vote, which you refused to postpone to allow additional time for compromise.
“Accordingly, this is to advise you that the President has asserted executive privilege over the entirety of the subpoenaed materials.
“As I indicated in my letter to you last night, this protective assertion of executive privilege ensures the President’s ability to make a final decision whether to assert privilege following a full review of these materials.”
Democrats, obviously, are not going to take this lightly and will be blitzing both Trump and Barr in the media.
It will be yet another stalemate with a Congress that simply refuses to work with this President in any way, shape, or form.
Source: Fox News
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