Here’s why Trump can’t use ‘executive privilege’ to block Bolton testimony: legal experts

AlterNet logoIt remains to be seen whether or not Republicans in the U.S. Senate will vote to include testimony from witnesses in President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton — who has said that he would testify if subpoenaed. Trump has asserted that he will invoke executive privilege if Bolton or any other national security officials are called to testify. But according to an article for Just Security written by six contributors (Harold Hongju Koh, Rosa Hayes, Annie Himes, Dana Khabbaz, Michael Loughlin and Mark Stevens), U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts “should reject any such executive privilege claim” and “require Bolton’s testimony.”

“First, judicial precedent does not condone the extension of executive privilege to former officials like Bolton in the context of a Senate impeachment trial,” the reporters explain. “Second, Trump may not invoke national security privilege with respect to Bolton’s and others’ information regarding the president’s conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Third, even if Trump could, any such claim of privilege has now likely been waived by the actions of the president, Bolton and others.” Continue reading.