The Trump administration’s latest assertions about executive privilege — that it protects the confidentiality of a president’s communication with private advisers who aren’t part of the government — are like too much else in this White House: politically unprecedented, legally wrong and morally dubious. From a legal standpoint, the point of executive privilege is to protect communications that occur within the government, between the president and other public officials. Politically speaking, this is a naked attempt to protect the president from congressional investigation of potentially corrupt deals with his cronies, any of whom could be called “advisers” to avoid subpoena.
If President Donald Trump invokes this executive privilege in future fights with Congress, as seems likely, the legislative branch cannot fold. It must insist on its rights, bring the issue to court and force the Supreme Court to reject the claim.
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