Fox’s Judge Napolitano: Full Mueller Report Likely Not Covered By Executive Privilege

Appearing on Fox News’ Shepard Smith Reporting on Wednesday, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said that President Trump’s assertion of executive privilege on the full unredacted Mueller report is likely not valid because it doesn’t pertain to communications with the president. He also told anchor Shepard Smith that former White House counsel Don McGahn and Special Counsel Robert Mueller will eventually testify before Congress.

TRANSCRIPT:

SMITH: Checking boxes on route to the bigger goal, which is the full Mueller report, testimony from Robert Mueller and testimony from Don McGahn, the former White House counsel.

NAPOLITANO: So the president, after initially saying Bob Mueller can testify, last weekend changed his mind. If he and the Attorney general have said under oath three times Bob Mueller can testify. So we don’t know if it’s come down the chain of command, don’t tough. If he has, he’s an employee of the federal government and he would comply with the lawful orders of those superior to him. On the other hand, he said his work is over. He could resign his job as special counsel tonight and walk into the House Judiciary Committee tomorrow morning and give tomorrow and there would be no way to stop him short of the president getting a court order, which would be very difficult for him to get.

SMITH: Regarding the full Mueller report, unredacted, how difficult is that going to be?

NAPOLITANO: The president has claimed executive privilege on the redacted part, which is very unusual. Because theoretically, unless somebody sneaked this, neither the president nor his lawyers have seen the redacted parts. It’s likely much of what is redacted doesn’t pertain to communications with the president. Executive privilege protects communications that the president has with his senior advisers and senior members of the government. So if the redacted material is not in that category, it’s not even covered by executive privilege.

[…]

SMITH: So in your mind, we’re going to hear from Mueller? and McGahn?

NAPOLITANO: And we’re going to hear from McGahn.

SMITH: And we’re going to hear from Don McGahn and will the Congress get the unredacted full Mueller?

NAPOLITANO: I don’t know the answer to that. But what Bill Barr should have done, when the subpoena came in, said ‘I can’t comply with it because I have to redact some of this.’ Give it to a judge. ‘Your honor, you tell us what to do.’ In my opinion, knowing this judge, she will say: ‘Give them the report. There’s a public interest.’

Watch the clip above, via Fox News.