asserted in order to apply? >> privileges are recognized. >> once they're asserted? >> i think as a general proposition. >> fair enough. all i'm asking is a general proposition. >> in attorney/client privilege you would assert the attorney/client privilege. >> who asserts executive privilege? >> ordinarily -- that is a complicated question, senator. >> who does it come back to? ultimately, who asserts executive privilege? >> it depends what you're talking about, what sort of executive branch document you're talking about. it depends. in my experience -- >> ultimately it's the president? >> there's not as much precedent on that. there's some. the supreme court in the united states versus richard nixon -- >> isn't it fair to say that executive privilege belongs to the president of the united states, the chief executive? >> yeah. it can also belong to the former president in the case of former