Washington: The Trump administration says in a court filing that two dozen emails revealing details of President Donald Trump's decision-making regarding withholding military assistance to Ukraine, which goes to the heart of his impeachment, are protected from a lawsuit under "presidential privilege".

The existence of the 24 emails was acknowledged in a late Friday filing by the Justice Department in response to a lawsuit by the Centre for Public Integrity that seeks the release of the emails without redaction. In December the nonprofit organisation received heavily blacked out versions of the emails.

President Donald Trump Credit:AP

Heather Walsh, a lawyer for the White House Office of Management and Budget, told the court in the Friday filing that the emails "reflect communications by either the President, the Vice-President, or the President's immediate advisers regarding Presidential decision-making about the scope, duration, and purpose of the hold on military assistance to Ukraine." Thus, she writes, the emails are privileged.

The filing was first reported by The Washington Post.