House Democrats think Chris Christie could help them get around Trump's executive privilege

House Democrats reportedly have a new plan for getting around executive privilege in their obstruction of justice investigation — and it involves former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

Lawmakers are planning on "expanding their circle of testimony" and bringing in individuals who made appearances in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report but never actually served in President Trump's administration, such as Christie, as well as former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former campaign chair Paul Manafort, Politico reported on Monday. Former deputy campaign chair Rick Gates is also mentioned as a possibility.

Part of the idea behind seeking information from these individuals, the report says, would be to find a way to get around Trump's claims of executive privilege. These associates do come up in the Mueller report, though. For example, one section of the report recalls a lunch between Trump and Christie during which Trump talked about having fired former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, which Trump said meant that the "Russia thing is over." Trump, according to the report, also asked Christie to call then-FBI Director James Comey, a request Christie ignored, thinking it "nonsensical."

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The White House has been repeatedly blocking House Democrats in their investigations, and they might make it a challenge to obtain information from confidants like Christie as well, with a deputy White House counsel saying last month that executive privilege doesn't necessarily just concern "communications directly involving the President and other Executive Branch officials."

Asked for comment about the possibility that he could be called to testify before Congress, Christie told Politico, "No comment, my friend."

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.