Eric Thayer/Reuters
A leading Republican defended Democrats from the Trump administration in a blistering letter released Friday. Senator Charles Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote to President Trump calling on him to reverse a “nonsense” policy that allows the executive branch to ignore requests not submitted by the minority side of congressional committees — Democrats. Grassley argues that the opinion of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel hinders the flow of information between congressional agencies and committees. “OLC appears to have utterly failed to live up to its own standards,” he wrote. Grassley also said Trump is being “ill-served and ill-advised” by his staff. The Justice Department has not commented on Grassley’s letter.