Executive Privilege in the Trump Presidency

• In Event: Donald J. Trump and the Law

Abstract

This paper will examine the power of executive privilege during the Trump presidency. Executive privilege is a constitutionally-based power of the president to withhold information and testimony from Congress, the courts, and the public. It is also a notably controversial and political power in that it is not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution and has never been adequately defined. As a result, the politics and history around its use are important.

In this paper, we will place the Trump presidency in the context of recent presidential administrations, particularly those of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. President Bush did much to aggressively assert and advance presidential powers, including asserting executive privilege. President Obama, despite not making the same number of executive privilege claims or advancing presidential power so directly, did not differ greatly from his predecessor when it came to supporting presidential secrecy. President Trump, having no history or background in politics, came into the presidency with little understanding of how the power may be used. We will therefore examine how President Trump has shaped the understanding of executive privilege, particularly through his dealings with Congress and the Mueller investigation.

Authors

• Mark J. Rozell, George Mason University

• Mitchel A. Sollenberger, University of Michigan, Dearborn