The White House on Tuesday directed former counsel Donald McGahn to hold onto documents related to special counsel Robert Mueller's probe that House Democrats are demanding to examine.

The House Judiciary Committee last month issued a subpoena for the the documents that set Tuesday as the deadline.

In a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote that the documents "remain legally protected from disclosure under longstanding constitutional principles, because they implicate significant Executive Branch confidentiality interests and executive privilege."

McGahn's own counsel confirmed to Nadler that McGahn will not comply with the committee's subpoena. That attorney, William Burck, wrote in a letter to Nadler that "the appropriate response for Mr. McGahn is to maintain the status quo unless and until" Congress can reach an agreement with the executive branch. 

Nadler issued the subpoena to McGahn in April after a partially redacted version of Mueller's report was released to the public. McGahn, who is heavily cited in the document, is a "critical witness to many of the alleged instances of obstruction of justice and other misconduct described" in it, Nadler said when he issued the subpoena.

The president and his attorneys have vowed to mount an aggressive legal defense against congressional oversight led by Democrats in the House of Representatives. 

"We're fighting all the subpoenas," Trump told reporters last month. 

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