Thread by @jedshug

It is politically premature and strategically unwise to call for immediate impeachment proceedings in the House.
A Special Counsel is likely to produce a mix of indictments, criminal information docs, and a report relatively soon.
Why get out ahead of it? 1/

2/ @woodruffbets reports the White House may assert executive privilege to block a report. It's possible Whitaker or Barr might order Mueller not to include any info that they deem privileged in a criminal information doc accompanying new indictments. thedailybeast.com/team-trumps-bl…

3/ Even at that stage, the House committees should use their energy to subpoena such reports, subpoena witnesses, and litigate executive privilege (like US v. Nixon), rather than re-formulate those efforts as premature impeachment proceedings.

4/ I would hazard to guess that executive privilege is not going to be a decisive problem.
Let's be realistic: Trump is not going to be removed by this GOP Senate for any obstruction of justice while in office.
The more pivotal salient events occurred before Inauguration Day.

5/ I'd hope that Mueller would offer 3 separate reports:
One on the events pre-election;
One on the events between election and inauguration;
One post-inauguration on obstruction.
The 1st is obviously not covered by privilege & there is only a specious argument that the 2d is.

6/ When Mueller writes those reports, if Whitaker/Barr tries to bury them, then a House committee can subpoena the first two and get them relatively quickly. Courts would reject the exec privilege claims, and those pre-inauguration reports are politically more important anyway.

7/ @KenDilanianNBC @NBCNews reports: "Mueller is nearing the end stages of his investigation, and a report by the special counsel is expected to be submitted to DOJ as early as mid-February.”
Patience, people. Patience.
nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

8/ In @woodruffbets report, she cites @JonathanTurley and says Trump could use exec privilege to run out the clock.
But U.S. v. Nixon (1974) shows how fast courts would resolve this dispute: About 3 months...

9/ US v. Nixon timeline:
April: Special Prosecutor Jaworkski subpoenaed tapes.
May 31: District Court Judge Sirica ordered Nixon to turn over tapes
Both sides appealed directly to SCOTUS
July 8: Oral argument
July 24: SCOTUS decision
Aug 9: Nixon resigned.
3 or 4 months, fine.