US White House counsel criticizes House probe
AP
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US House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., leads his panel on a hearing about executive privilege and congressional oversight, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (Photo: AP)

The US White House counsel has sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee chairman, harshly criticizing an investigation into President Donald Trump and rejecting sweeping document requests.

Pat Cippillone sent the letter Tuesday. He suggests Democrats are seeking a “do-over” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe. He also questions whether the House probe is a “legitimate exercise of oversight authority” and says the White House will “resist the overbroad demands.”

Democrats are clashing with the Justice Department over access to Mueller’s full report. The Judiciary panel voted to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress after he defied the committee’s subpoena for an unredacted version of the report.

Cippillone asked the chairman to narrow the requests and “articulate the legislative purpose and legal support.”