Trump BLOCKS his former White House counsel Don McGahn from testifying to Congress on Mueller report Tuesday in new escalation of war with Democrats President Donald Trump will not allow former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress about claims that appeared in the special counsel report The Department of Justice advised the White House on Monday that Trump had the power to assert 'immunity' from compelled testimony for top advisers DOJ relied on a 2014 Office of Legal Counsel opinion to make the judgementBy Francesca Chambers, Senior White House Correspondent For Dailymail.com Published: 20:38 BST, 20 May 2019 | Updated: 21:26 BST, 20 May 2019 5 shares 159 Viewcomments President Donald Trump will not allow former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress about claims he made that appeared in the special counsel report. House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler issued McGahn a subpoena for testimony at a May 21 hearing to be held at 10:00 am. The Department of Justice advised the White House on Monday that Trump had the power to assert 'immunity' from compelled testimony for top advisers, however. DOJ relied on a 2014 Office of Legal Counsel opinion to make the judgement. It cross-applied the preview standard in a new opinion that said immunity from testifying about about official responsibilities is 'fundamental' to maintaining the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. 'Those principles apply to the former White House Counsel. Accordingly, Mr. McGahn is not legally required to appear and testify about matters related to his official duties as Counsel to the President,' a 15-page document singed by an assistant attorney general said. President Donald Trump will not allow former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress about claims he made that appeared in the special counsel report Current White House attorney Pat Cipollone subsequently told Nadler that McGahn would not be appearing on Tuesday. 'There is no question that the position of Counsel to the President falls within the scope of the immunity,' he said. Immunity is not the same as privilege, which the president claimed to keep the full, unredacted Mueller report out of Congress' clutches. McGahn already refused a document production demand from Nadler. It was unclear before the immunity assertion whether he would buck the subpoena that called for testimony entirely. The OLC memo from 2014 that Trump cites in his refusal was originally written in response to the Obama administration's attempts to keep David Simas, political director to Obama, from having to comply with a House Oversight subpoena. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said: 'At the President’s direction, the White House has been completely transparent with the Special Counsel’s investigation. 'The Special Counsel received more than 1.4 million documents and hours and hours of interviews from White House officials, including more than 30 hours from former Counsel to the President, Don McGahn. 'The Democrats do not like the conclusion of the Mueller investigation – no collusion, no conspiracy, and no obstruction – and want a wasteful and unnecessary do-over. The House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to try and force Mr. McGahn to testify again. The Department of Justice has provided a legal opinion stating that, based on long-standing, bipartisan, and Constitutional precedent, the former Counsel to the President cannot be forced to give such testimony, and Mr. McGahn has been directed to act accordingly. Sanders added, 'This action has been taken in order to ensure that future Presidents can effectively execute the responsibilities of the Office of the Presidency.' Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility