Latest in Donald McGahn
Though the circuit court granted an administrative stay, a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has denied a motion by the Department of Justice to stay a Nov. 25 ruling that held that McGahn does not have absolute testimonial immunity and must comply with a congressional subpoena for his testimony. The denial of the stay can be found here and below.
A judge in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the President's former White House Counsel Don McGahn must testify before impeachment investigators pursuant to a subpoena issued by the House Judiciary Committee. McGahn served as Trump's White House counsel from inauguration until October 2018. McGahn can appeal the ruling and request a stay pending appeal. The ruling can be found here and below.
James Comey famously does things his own way, and the Department of Justice inspector general has not approved. Having criticized the former FBI director’s handling of the Clinton email investigation, the inspector general most recently upbraided him for his use of “sensitive investigative information” in sounding an alarm about Donald Trump.
On Aug. 7, the House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit asking a federal court in D.C. to force Don McGahn, former White House counsel, to comply with the committee’s subpoena for his testimony.
The Justice Department filed an objection to the House Judiciary Committee’s recent response to the U.S.
The House Committee on the Judiciary filed a response to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s order to show reasoning for why the committee’s motion to compel former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify before Congress should be designated as related to the committee’s efforts to obtain materials from a grand jury.
On August 7, the House Judiciary Committee filed a civil complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enforce the committee’s subpoena for former White House counsel Don McGahn’s testimony. The complaint argues that McGahn’s refusal to testify impedes the committee’s ability to determine whether to approve articles of impeachment, pass remedial legislation and conduct oversight of the Department of Justice. The document is available here and below.
As Don McGahn prepares to leave his post as White House counsel some time this fall, it is not too early to take preliminary stock of his tenure. There is no one-size-fits-all model for the job, no standard measure for judging success. Each president chooses counsel as he or she pleases and for whatever role the particular chief executive has determined is required.
The New York Times reports that White House Counsel Don McGahn has interviewed extensively with the special counsel, cooperating with the president’s consent but perhaps more extensively than President Trump may have anticipated. The result may be a further strain on what, according to the Times, was already a difficult working relationship.
“[T]he WH Counsel seems to be renting out space in his office to the New York Times,” notes Bill Kristol in reference to the sympathetic New York Times story yesterday about White House Counsel Don McGahn’s efforts to “Corral Trump While Pushing G.O.P.’s Agenda,” on top of the Times story the day before on McGahn threaten