Reacting to a report that Donald Trump will get to see the special counsel Robert Mueller's report on his administration before Congress or the American public will, a CNN legal analyst said it would be likely that the president could have evidence of his own obstruction hidden from view.
According to Jeffrey Toobin, Trump has every right to see the report before anyone because Mueller's appointment by the Justice Department makes him a part of the executive branch, and this is the White House’s right.
"Robert Mueller is a special counsel within the Department of Justice," Toobin explained. "He answers to [Attorney General] Bill Barr, who answers to the president -- he is part of the executive branch. and this is the White House's right to do this."
"They may get some political criticism, but this is an example of what it means to be a subordinate to the president, that this report can be censored by the White House and there is nothing Mueller can do about it except resign in protest, " he added.
Noting that Trump can always assert executive privilege to shield advice and private conversation he has had with subordinates, CNN host John Berman said the president would likely hide any evidence of obstruction by having it redacted from the special counsel's report.
"One other point, we're talking about what areas might be covered in executive privilege, it's not the campaign, the presidency," the host explained. "But if you're talking about obstruction, the White House could claim executive privilege any conversation it had with a political advisor."
"Absolutely," Toobin agreed. "We talk about executive privilege as if it is clear what's covered and what's not. It's not an area the courts have analyzed that much. A lot of discretion traditionally has been afforded to the president when it comes to executive privilege."
"All the stuff, pre-transition, there's no way that can be covered by executive privilege. but the conversations during the presidency, everything related presumably to the James Comey firing could be off-limits." he suggested.
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