Former Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s notes during his time at the White House could reportedly provide Russia investigation special counsel Robert Mueller’s team with information on what transpired early in President Donald Trump’s tenure, Newsmax reports.
According to CNN, Spicer took copious notes in the White House during his eight months in the West Wing. CNN also reported that White House officials declined to comment on Spicer’s note-taking, or if Mueller had asked for them.
“If the memos are Spicer’s own documents in Spicer’s possession, then I think it’s a close call whether they’re protected by privilege. And all of this assumes Spicer wants to invoke privilege.” said Steve Vladeck, legal analyst and a professor of law at the University of Texas, told CNN.
Jeffrey Toobin, CNN’s senior legal analyst, told the news outlet any claim of privilege on Spicer’s notes would require a judge to weigh “whether the information is central to the functioning of the executive branch” against “the competing need for it from law enforcement or Congress.”
Meanwhile, Politico reports that Mueller has also reportedly asked the White House for phone records pertaining to the initial statement that was issued regarding a meeting between Trump campaign officials and Russians.
Politico cited people familiar with the Russia investigation, as saying the former FBI director is trying to piece together what has taken place in the executive branch this year.
Among Mueller’s requests are everything linked to the statement issued on behalf of Donald Trump Jr. on July 8. President Donald Trump was said to have dictated the statement, which was later found to be misleading to the point Trump Jr. was forced to disclose more details about the meeting he and other Trump campaign officials had with a Russian woman and a former Soviet counterintelligence officer at Trump Tower last summer.
According to Politico, Mueller wants to see records from the flurry of phone calls that took place between Trump, who was on Air Force One flying back to the U.S. from the G-20 Summit in Germany, and both New York and Washington, D.C.
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