Donald Trump's Justice Department is using a new interpretation of executive privilege to try to keep even the identities of private advisers on his 2025 law-firm crackdown secret from courts and Congress, relying on a fresh legal opinion that extends presidential confidentiality protections beyond government staff.
The move stems from a 10 August opinion by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), which concluded that presidential communications with private advisers can be shielded by executive privilege when they concern official decision-making, involve the president or his direct advisers, and remain confidential.
