The Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Office of Legal Counsel said that the president’s ability to withhold information from the legislative and judicial branches extends to communications with close advisers.
The memo, issued by Assistant Attorney General T. Elliot Gaiser from the Office of Legal Counsel, explains that executive privilege covers communications with private advisers so long as they “relate to official presidential decision-making, involve or reflect communications with the president or his direct advisers, and are confidential.”
“The unrestrained ability to gather information is essential to the President’s executive function,” it says, “Whether in crafting a policy or making a final decision, the president ‘must have the freedom to seek out whom he wishes for advice,’ regardless of whether that individual is a government official or a private citizen.”
According to Gaiser, “The need for presidential confidentiality applies to communications with private advisers just as it does with government officials.” He explained, “A President might determine that a private adviser has unique insight or experience, and that full knowledge about a contemplated decision cannot be obtained through consultation with only government employees.”
Should executive privilege be determined to be only communications within the government, it would “foreclose the president from relying on an array of important sources that he may find necessary to the effective discharge of his responsibilities of office.” Such an action would “impair the President’s Article II functions” and “ultimately would harm the public itself.”
The memo has major implications ahead of midterm elections, as Democrats may launch investigations into President Trump should they take back the House.
