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DOJ quietly issues opinion with ‘big implications’ for keeping Trump talks secret: report

rawstory.com · 7h · first reportShare

The Justice Department quietly released a memo Monday that could have “big implications” for Democrats seeking to hold President Donald Trump accountable should they retake control of Congress in the midterms, Punchbowl News founder Jake Sharman warned Tuesday. The memo, issued by the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel, asserts that the president has the legal right to withhold his communications with "private advisers," even when Congress requests them through legal channels, so long as “they relate to official presidential decisionmaking.” “[The opinion] extends to ‘direct advisors’ communication with outside advisers,” Sharman wrote Tuesday in a social media post on X. “Big implications if Dems take back the House and start investigating Trump.” Punchbowl News noted in its Tuesday morning newsletter that the DOJ's position would effectively block congressional inquiries into Trump's communications, which could be key to Democrats' efforts to probe his business and other dealings. “That w