# Trump waives executive privilege for Bannon **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 10, 2022, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728 "2022-07-10T21:41:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/21 "2022-07-12T00:48:07Z")
Man, Bannon just looks like he smells really bad. Glad I don’t have to be in a closed room with him. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/22 "2022-07-12T02:15:18Z")
And apparently Guiliani is really fragrant as well, reeking of sweat and whiskey farts. I bet that “War Room” was the stinkiest place on Earth that night. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/23 "2022-07-12T02:23:26Z")
They called it the War Room, but it was just one of Madison Cawthorn’s non stop coke fueled sex parties. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/24 "2022-07-12T16:51:00Z")
> [@5\_time\_champ](#): > > Trump can no more waive Executive Privilege than I can. The man is utterly delusional. Executive Privilege belongs to the incumbent President. Executive Privilege is whatever the Supreme Court says it is, and they ruled on it in the 1977 case _Nixon v. Administrator of General Services_. > **[Richard M. NIXON, Appellant, v. ADMINISTRATOR OF GENERAL SERVICES et al.](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/433/425)** They also stated in their ruling on that case, “We reject the argument that only an incumbent president may assert such claims, and hold that appellant, as a former president, may also be heard to assert them.” So, former presidents absolutely can claim executive privilege. But it holds very little power, especially if subsequent presidents (especially the current officeholder) are in disagreement. In a sense, you are both correct and incorrect. Technically, a former president can credibly claim executive privilege, so to state that Trump cannot do it is not accurate. But since the court will give much more weight to Biden’s opinion, if he contests the claim it would likely be denied. It’s probably most accurate to say that a former president’s claim to executive privilege, while not non-existent, is pretty weak. Probably weak enough to be meaningless. Here is an opinion that seems to sum things up pretty well: > **[No, Former Presidents Cannot Assert Executive Privilege. At Least Not...](https://www.justsecurity.org/78904/no-former-presidents-cannot-assert-executive-privilege-at-least-not-meaningfully/)** > > A detailed argument of how Congress changed the legal landscape after the Supreme Court last issued an opinion on this topic. Note that it doesn’t absolutely claim that executive privilege cannot exist for a former president (that would contradict the Supreme Court’s previous ruling) but that the privilege is essentially toothless. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer or a constitutional scholar, just a guy using Google. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/25 "2022-07-12T17:08:54Z")
I’m also not a lawyer but I would expect the court (especially in the 70s) to land on the idea that it’s going to depend on the specifics. There is no one-size-fits-all option. If the former president says that he’s trying to protect secret agents in the field from being killed, and the new president seems like he’s simply trying to distract away from his policy failures by highlighting the questionable behavior of his predecessor - well maybe you side with the former president. If the former president was trying to cheat the election, and the new president is trying to enforce election laws then maybe you side with the new president. There shouldn’t be a hard rule on the matter. Reason and fairness should prevail. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/26 "2022-07-12T17:09:09Z")
Any bets that Trump is also trying for a legal gotcha with his infantile phrasing? “No, no, I totally said the Unselect Committee! He’s not allowed to testify before the Select Committee!” ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/27 "2022-07-12T23:12:34Z")
Trump is way, way to stupid for that. And no judge or jury would ever buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2022, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/28 "2022-07-13T07:18:34Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Trump is way, way to stupid for that. He’s too stupid to plan it, but petty enough to try to push it after the fact. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2022, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/29 "2022-07-13T09:58:27Z")
> **[Leaked audio: Before Election Day, Bannon said Trump planned to falsely claim...](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/leaked-audio-steve-bannon-trump-2020-election-declare-victory/)** > > "That's our strategy. He's gonna declare himself a winner." [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/OxNoUnxN_cs/maxresdefault.jpg "LEAKED AUDIO: Trump planned to falsely claim victory, according to Bannon") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNoUnxN_cs) “What Trump’s gonna do, is just declare victory. Right? He’s gonna declare victory. But that doesn’t mean he’s a winner, he’s just gonna say he’s a winner.” “at 10 or 11 o’clock Trump’s gonna walk in the Oval, tweet out, ‘I’m the winner. Game over. Suck on that.'” “If Trump is losing by 10 or 11 o’clock at night, it’s going to be even crazier. No, because he’s gonna sit right there and say, ‘They stole it. I’m directing the attorney general to shut down all ballot places in all 50 states,'” Bannon said. “He’s not going out easy. If Biden is winning, Trump is going to do some crazy shit.” ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2022, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/30 "2022-07-13T15:22:38Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > “If Trump is losing by 10 or 11 o’clock at night, it’s going to be even crazier. No, because he’s gonna sit right there and say, ‘They stole it. I’m directing the attorney general to shut down all ballot places in all 50 states,'” Bannon said. “He’s not going out easy. If Biden is winning, Trump is going to do some crazy shit.” I hope this forms the basis of a LOT OF QUESTIONS to Bannon from the Committee. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2022, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/31 "2022-07-13T15:43:39Z")
“Who is Steve Bannon? I never met the guy, and I barely even know him. Maybe he worked on my campaign, but I cannot recall. Anyway, he’s probably a loser and a liar anyway so I fired him myself” - Future Donald Trump statement. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/32 "2022-07-14T07:39:32Z")
If Trump does that, I suspect Bannon would just smile and nod. He’s a decrepit old bag of refuse, but he knows the game. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2022, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728/33 "2022-07-14T07:50:46Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Or the judge of his trial has refused any further delays, has shot down every defense argument, and instructed everybody that the trial begins next Monday. Period. This. * * * > [@snowthx](#): > > “Who is Steve Bannon? I never met the guy, and I barely even know him. Maybe he worked on my campaign, but I cannot recall. Anyway, he’s probably a loser and a liar anyway so I fired him myself” - Future Donald Trump statement. And this. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-waives-executive-privilege-for-bannon/967728.md?page=1)