Remarkably, despite White House efforts to block her participation, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch decided to appear before House investigators—and she may have inspired others to step forward, too. Fiona Hill, former White House adviser on Russia, appeared before House investigators on Monday, and Ambassador Sondland is expected to appear before House investigators on Thursday, despite earlier White House efforts to keep him quiet. Although the White House continues to try to limit what current and former administration employees can say, lawyers representing those employees have pushed back, arguing that the executive privilege does not apply. With a number of hearings and document production deadlines looming, there will be many opportunities for the White House to attempt to withhold cooperation.
The White House’s central claim is that it is not required to turn over certain documents or to permit certain testimony because the information pertains to deliberations that are protected from disclosure under the executive privilege, a long-standing doctrine rooted in the separation of powers that permits the executive branch to protect the confidentiality of presidential deliberations. The U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the president’s constitutionally based privilege to withhold certain information from disclosure to the public or Congress—but these constraints are far from absolute. There are important limitations on the president’s ability to withhold information from Congress.