U.S. President Donald Trump arrives at an event to celebrate the first anniversary of U.S. first lady Melania Trump's “Be Best” initiative in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday defended Trump’s use of executive privilege to withhold U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full report from House Democrats, but said it should not prevent Mueller from testifying before lawmakers.

“It is not true the president waived executive privilege by sharing materials with the Special Counsel’s office,” a department official said, adding that a prior attorney general opinion made “clear there is no waiver when the White House cooperates with DOJ (Department of Justice) by providing materials to law enforcement.”