[ad_1]
Indeed, the fact that the House has since impeached Trump on two occasions – with the Senate acquitting him in both cases – makes the ongoing battle over McGahn’s subpoena an afterthought. But for a while, events the House wants to explore threatened to sink Trump’s presidency – in its first year.
Mueller’s investigation revealed that Trump had repeatedly encouraged McGahn to fire or hush up the investigation, and that he once asked McGahn to create a fake record of his efforts. McGahn’s testimony about these episodes became one of the most explosive aspects of the Special Advocate’s final report. The notes from McGahn and his deputy also provided some of the most detailed glimpses of the panic and chaos that enveloped the West Wing when Mueller launched his investigation.
The summons has a tangled history in the courts. The House released it just days after the Justice Department released Mueller’s redacted report. But McGahn refused to appear a month later, and the House Judiciary Committee took legal action to force him to appear. In response, the Trump administration claimed that close associates of the president were “absolutely immune” to testify.
Obama-appointed District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson rejected these arguments in November 2019. Last February, a DC Circuit panel ruled, 2-1, that the judiciary should not consider summons disputes between the executive branch and Congress, which could undermine the power of Congress to investigate wrongdoing. The entire bench of the court of appeal agreed to take the case and voted on August 7 reverse this decision.
However, the move left some potential arguments against the subpoena and a DC Circuit panel unanswered. application blocked again. The decision, again 2-1, said the House did not have a law specifically allowing courts to execute requests for testimony or documents. This is the question the entire DC Circuit bench was scheduled to address on Tuesday – until the court issues the final postponement.
President Joe Biden’s victory changed some of the political dynamics at work, apparently increasing the chances of an amicable resolution with the Democratic-controlled House.
Lawyers for the Department of Justice on Wednesday asked the DC Circuit to postpone arguments to next week, citing prospects for negotiations that could resolve the case.
But the House urged the appeals court to dismiss the proposed delay, arguing that it would only prolong Trump’s effort to block resolution of the case. The Justice Department is likely to consult with the former president about the case, extending an already long and unsuccessful effort to reach agreement on the parameters of McGahn’s testimony.
While the bench session normally involves the 11 active judges of the DC circuit, order released by the court on Thursday said only seven justices plan to take part in future hearings on the case, if they continue.
Among those who have stepped down are Judge Merrick Garland, a person appointed by Clinton who was appointed by Biden to become attorney general, and Judges Greg Katsas and Neomi Rao, individuals appointed by Trump who have recused themselves from some or of all matters related to the Mueller investigation. Thursday’s order also said Judge Karen Henderson would not take part in the delayed arguments. The reason for his decision is unclear.
[ad_2]
Source link