Image: Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks beside President Donald Trump during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, shortly after a shooting incident on April 25, 2026.  (Photo by Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Just days after Senate Republicans confirmed US Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Justice this week issued a legal opinion on executive privilege that was swiftly condemned as an attempt to unfairly protect some of President Donald Trump’s top advisers from any accountability.

Historically, the president has been allowed to assert executive privilege over communications with executive branch staff, protecting them from disclosure.

However, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) said in a Monday memo that “presidential communications with private advisers can fall within the scope of executive privilege so long as they relate to official presidential decision making, involve or reflect communications with the president or his direct advisers, and are confidential.”

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