Russia probes come up against claims of executive privilege

President Donald Trump’s White House is relying on a sweeping interpretation of executive privilege that is rankling members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. (Photo by Tom Lohdan/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s White House is relying on a sweeping interpretation of executive privilege that is rankling members of Congress on both sides of the aisle.

The contention espoused by top White House officials? Pretty much everything is off limits until the president says it’s not.

The argument was laid bare this week during former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s closed-door interview with the House Intelligence Committee as part of its Russia probe.

As lawmakers probed Bannon’s time working for Trump, his attorney got on the phone with the White House counsel’s office, relaying questions and asking what Bannon could tell Congress. The answer was a broad one. Bannon couldn’t discuss anything to do with his work on the presidential transition or later in the White House itself.