Latest in Donald McGahn
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.
If McGahn is not what the president would have preferred in a counsel to the Trump administration, McGahn has clearly succeeded to a significant degree as the chief White House lawyer in a Republican administration.
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 Mr. Trump may have anticipated.
What do the recent spate of pro-McGahn news stories mean?
The recent indiscretion exposes the conflicts within the legal team between the representation of the Office and the defense of Donald Trump.
In response to President Trump's tweet suggesting the possible existence of tapes of Trump's conversations with former FBI Director James Comey, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Elijah Cummings have requested copies of the alleged recordings from White House Counsel Don McGahn. The letter also requests all other documents and communications related to Comey's dismissal.
Sally Yates’s testimony yesterday calls into yet greater doubt the effectiveness of White House Counsel Don McGahn.