House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said he would “have a problem” if the White House got to see a summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s final report before he does.
During an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace asked if Nadler expects the White House would get to review the summary first for any executive privilege issues.
“I certainly hope that does not happen and I certainly do have a problem with that. This is an investigation of the White House, of the president, of the people around him for alleged misconduct in various different ways and for subverting the Constitution in various different ways,” Nadler said.
The chairman tied the issue of executive privilege, in which the White House can choose information not to release to the public, to the Watergate scandal.
“As we know from the Nixon tapes case, the Supreme Court decided … executive privilege cannot be used to shield wrongdoing and certainly they should not get an advance look at the report,” Nadler said. “The report should go public in its entirety and see what the chips fall.”
The 1974 United States v. Nixon case determined former President Richard Nixon must hand over tape recordings and other subpoenaed materials relating to meetings between the president and those indicted by a grand jury in the Watergate scandal. Eight Supreme Court justices, the ninth had recused himself, ruled that materials subpoenaed in a criminal trial could not be claimed under executive privilege solely in the interest of confidentiality.
Nadler also said it is “way too early” to talk about impeachment, asserting that Congress needs to see all the facts.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley confirmed Sunday morning the White House has not yet received or been briefed on the Mueller report.
Mueller delivered his report to Attorney General William Barr on Friday, concluding his 22-month-long investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. Barr told congressional leaders in a letter he may be able to provide them with the special counsel’s “principal conclusions” as early as this weekend.
The investigation led to the indictments of 34 people and three Russian companies, including six individuals close to Trump such as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, but none relate to collusion with Russia. Mueller is not expected to not recommend any new indictments.
