From Trump claiming executive privilege to William Barr and the Mueller report - here's everything you need to know

The developments in Washington are setting up a legal showdown between the Trump administration and House Democrats

(AFP)

The feud between Donald Trump and House Democrats is escalating, as critics of the president seek a vast trove of information related to the Mueller report, and the White House has signalled it has no plans to help in that endeavour.

The latest escalation comes as Democrats have moved forward to find attorney general William Barr in contempt of congress – an act that would make Mr Barr only the second sitting top lawman in the US to be hit with the charge – for failing to honour a subpoena and hand over the Mueller report and related documents.

The White House, meanwhile, has asserted executive privilege over the documents for the first time, increasing the likelihood that the clash between the House and the Trump administration will end up in the courts.

Here’s what you need to know.

What do Democrats want?

Democrats in Washington have demanded a full account of the Mueller report, including underlying evidence and files that touch on dozens of federal criminal cases stemming from or related to the special counsel investigation.

The calls for these materials began almost immediately after Mr Barr first received the Mueller report on 22 March. The demands have only gained momentum in time since as Washington has been divided by the report and the attorney general’s representation of the report.

How have they tried to get those documents?

The House Judiciary Committee has attempted to force the Justice Department’s hand by issuing subpoenas, and now are taking further action with a vote to proceed with a contempt resolution against Mr Barr.

The measure has passed in the Judiciary Committee, but would still need a full vote in the House – a simple majority would do – before Mr Barr is actually hit with the charge.

What has the Trump administration done?

As Democrats increased pressure over the past few weeks, the Justice Department and House Judiciary have engaged in negotiations around what documents would be made public, but those talks have appeared to break down.

The night before the contempt hearing in the House, Mr Nadler announced that he had received a letter from the Department of Justice indicating that the White House was asserting executive privilege to block their access to the Mueller report and underlying documents.

That decision by the White House followed after Mr Barr sent a letter to the president suggesting that he makes a protective assertion of executive privilege, pending a final decision on whether to officially claim executive privilege on the entirety of the documents in question.

In that letter, Mr Barr suggested that the Department of Justice was being rushed to hand over the documents, which number in the millions.

Assistant attorney general Stephen Boyd said in a letter to Mr Nadler that the Department of Justice was “disappointed” that the Judiciary Committee would not honour a request for a delay on the vote of contempt over the subpoenas. Mr Boyd argued that the request would force the Justice Department to violate the law, court rules, and court orders, and would harm the independence of the department.

What is contempt?

Contempt sounds pretty serious, but a House decision to pass such a resolution against Mr Barr would likely be largely symbolic and would amount to a very powerful message to the attorney general.

Overall, contempt charges follow after congressional subpoenas are repeatedly denied. The measure, if passed by the full House, would then be handed over to the executive branch (where it is likely that it will not be taken up).

The next step would be for Congress to take Mr Barr and the Trump administration to court over the Mueller report, which could then force the courts to decide the matter.

What is executive privilege, and what does it cover?

The White House’s assertion of executive privilege marks the first time the president has done so, and has been interpreted broadly as an escalation in tensions between House Democrats and the president.

The claim is, essentially, that certain materials within the executive branch’s possession should be withheld in the public interest, and allows the White House and other members of the executive to resist subpoenas from Congress.

The Trump administration in this case has targeted the entire Mueller report and underlying documents, even though the measure is usually only used to target information pertaining specifically to executive branch functions.