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don mcgahn
Noting That 'Presidents Are Not Kings,' Federal Judge Rules Don McGahn Must Submit to Congressional Subpoena
"This ruling means not only that McGahn must provide testimony, but so must a raft of administration officials who have been stonewalling Congress in attempts to protect this president."
Nov 24, 2019
A federal judge ruled Monday afternoon that Don McGahn, former White House Counsel for President Donald Trump, must submit to a congressional subpoena and testify before members of the U.S. House of Representatives--a legal defeat for Trump who has tried to prevent the testimony.
In the ruling (pdf), U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, said "the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings."
As such, Jackson continued, "This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Moreover, as citizens of the United States, current and former senior-level presidential aides have constitutional rights, including the right to free speech, and they retain these rights even after they have transitioned back into private life."
According to the Associated Press:
McGahn was a star witness in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, and Democrats wanted to question McGahn about possible obstruction of justice by Trump. That was months before the House started an impeachment inquiry into Trump's effort to get Ukraine to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden.
In May of this year, as Common Dreams reported at the time, Trump ordered McGahn not to appear after he was subpoenaed by the House Judiciary Committee.
While ordering that McGahn must appear, Jackson said this does not prevent him from claiming certain legal privileges. However, the judge pushed back against repeated claims by Trump that his administration is immune from congressional oversight or prosecution for alleged misconduct.
"To make the point as plain as possible, it is clear to this Court," Jackson stated, "that, with respect to senior-level presidential aides, absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist."
While the White House immediately said it would appeal the ruling, Marge Baker, executive vice president for Policy and Program at the People for the American Way, applauded the court's decision.
"This ruling comes as a timely reinforcement of our constitutional principles of separation of powers and checks and balances, which have been under relentless assault by the Trump administration," Baker said.
"It affirms the common-sense principle that Congress's power to subpoena the executive branch is essential to fulfill its duty of oversight," she added. "This ruling means not only that McGahn must provide testimony, but so must a raft of administration officials who have been stonewalling Congress in attempts to protect this president. Their failure to comply leaves congressional investigators no option but to assume that their testimony, if delivered, would incriminate the president who is ordering them not to testify."
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Congress Must Hold Former White House Counsel Don McGahn in Contempt
Statement released by Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn
May 21, 2019
Congress must hold former White House Counsel Don McGahn in contempt. McGahn's refusal to testify is in deliberate defiance of a House Judiciary Committee subpoena, and he, and the White House, must be held to account. The Committee must move expeditiously to issue a contempt citation and the full House must follow suit in short order.
The Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memo claiming to excuse McGahn from testifying is contrary to relevant court decisions. Courts have flatly rejected the legal argument that a former White House Counsel is "absolutely immune" from a congressional subpoena. The House of Representative's subpoena power is rooted in the constitution, with a long history of jurisprudence supporting it. The OLC memo is just more evidence of obstruction of justice by President Trump and his Attorney General William Barr.
McGahn's no-show today is part of a blanket campaign of stonewalling and defiance by the Trump Administration. The time has come to act. Subpoenas are being defied so Congress must begin leveling serious punishments against all those who do not comply. Congress must use all the tools at its disposal to enforce its subpoenas and fulfill its oversight responsibilities.
Current and former Trump Administration officials do not get to arbitrarily withhold information and ignore subpoenas from Congress - a coequal branch of government with oversight responsibilities enshrined in the United States Constitution. Without oversight of the executive branch any democracy is at serious risk of slipping toward a totalitarian regime. Congress must act now and act decisively. History will not look kindly on any member of Congress who continues to put their party before their country by condoning the Trump Administration's defiance of the United States Constitution.
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'The Dam Is Breaking': Progressives Say Pelosi 'Running Out of Excuses' Not to Impeach Trump
"The drum is beating," said Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday, "and it is getting louder."
May 21, 2019
As the Trump administration's lawlessness reached an "inflection point" Tuesday with former White House counsel Don McGahn's refusal to testify before Congress, so too did progressive pressure on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to stop abdicating her constitutional duties and immediately launch impeachment proceedings against the president.
"Without oversight of the executive branch any democracy is at serious risk of slipping toward a totalitarian regime. Congress must act now and act decisively."
-- Karen Hobert Flynn, Common Cause
"The dam is breaking, and the voices of people demanding impeachment are becoming impossible to ignore," Heidi Hess, co-director of CREDO Action, said in a statement. "Nancy Pelosi is running out of excuses, and her ability to delay impeachment proceedings is getting weaker by the day."
"We need her to heed the growing calls of her colleagues and people across the country demanding she defend our democracy and protect us from Donald Trump," Hess said.
MoveOn, an organization with more than a million members nationwide, echoed CREDO, tweeting simply: #ImpeachmentInquiryNow.
\u201c#ImpeachmentInquiryNow\u201d— MoveOn (@MoveOn) 1558450451
The progressive groups' calls for impeachment hearings were also shared by a number of House Democrats Tuesday, despite Pelosi's claim that she is not facing any pressure from members of her caucus.
Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) said in a statement that Trump's "most recent actions and continued disrespect for the Constitution are forcing us down the road to impeachment."
"Congress swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. That includes impeachment."
--Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez"Stonewalling Congress on witnesses and the unredacted Mueller report only enhances the president's appearance of guilt, and as a result, he has pushed Congress to a point where we must start an impeachment inquiry," Pocan said.
Pocan's demand for impeachment proceedings came as McGahn, on orders from the White House, defied a subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, continuing the Trump administration's blanket opposition to congressional investigations.
Addressing McGahn's empty seat Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said Congress "will hear Mr. McGahn's testimony, even if we have to go to court to secure it."
"We will not allow the president to prevent the America people from hearing from this witness," said Nadler. "We will not allow the president to block congressional subpoenas--putting himself and his allies above the law."
\u201c\u201cOur subpoenas are not optional. Mr. McGahn has a legal obligation to be here for this scheduled appearance,\u201d House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler says after former White House counsel Don McGahn defied the House subpoena and skipped the hearing https://t.co/t8x9sqMSWL\u201d— CNN Politics (@CNN Politics) 1558448608
McGahn's no-show at Tuesday's hearing came on the heels of reports that even some members of Pelosi's own leadership team are revolting against her opposition to impeachment proceedings, arguing that the speaker's justification for continuing with business as usual is untenable in the face of the Trump administration's extraordinary defiance of congressional oversight efforts.
In an interview with MSNBC's Kasie Hunt Tuesday morning, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she believes "we have come to the time of impeachment."
"I think that at a certain point this is no longer about politics," said Ocasio-Cortez, "but this is about upholding the rule of law."
Asked what it is going to take for Pelosi to change her mind on impeachment, the New York congresswoman argued pressure from constituents will be essential.
"I think it really depends on everyday Americans," Ocasio-Cortez told MSNBC just before the Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday morning. "If you have a representative that is in a close seat and you think that we should be upholding the rule of law, I think it's time to give your representative a call. It sounds like a cliche--it's like your dentist telling you to floss to call your representative--but it's because we listen and it's important that we communicate."
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who in March introduced a resolution to begin an impeachment inquiry into Trump, tweeted, "The drum is beating and it is getting louder."
"The future of our democracy depends on us putting country first," Tlaib wrote, adding the hashtag #TimetoImpeach.
\u201cThe drum is beating and it is getting louder. The future of our democracy depends on us putting country first. #TimetoImpeach\u201d— Rashida Tlaib (@Rashida Tlaib) 1558444516
In a statement Tuesday, Common Cause president Karen Hobert Flynn said the "time has come to act."
"Without oversight of the executive branch any democracy is at serious risk of slipping toward a totalitarian regime. Congress must act now and act decisively," said Flynn. "History will not look kindly on any member of Congress who continues to put their party before their country by condoning the Trump administration's defiance of the United States Constitution."
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