Sessions' Balk Before Senate Panel Spotlights Hazy Law on Executive Privilege
Does a U.S. attorney general have to tell senators about his private conversations with the president when asked? Some lawyers say that's not a straightforward yes-or-no question.
June 14, 2017 at 04:43 PM
6 minute read
Does a U.S. attorney general have to tell senators about his private conversations with the president when asked? Some lawyers say that's not a straightforward yes-or-no question.
In a hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions repeatedly told lawmakers that he was “not able to comment” on questions about his discussions with President Donald Trump and other high-ranking officials. When lawmakers asked Sessions if he was invoking executive privilege, he replied no, because only the president could assert such a privilege. The attorney general said he was “protecting the president's constitutional right” to claim executive privilege “by not giving it away before he has a chance to review it.”
Lawyers with congressional experience say Sessions' basis for not answering could be sound, but the law surrounding executive privilege is murky at best.
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