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spanone

(135,884 posts)
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:16 AM May 2019

Trump says he won't let McGahn testify to Congress: 'It's done'



President Trump said Thursday that he won't allow former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify before Congress.

"I don't think I can let him and then tell everybody else you can because especially him because he was the counsel," Trump said during a clip of a 20-minute interview aired on Fox News.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, last week issued a subpoena to McGahn to testify before the committee. Senate Democrats have also indicated that they want McGahn to testify before Congress as Democrats on Capitol Hill seek to follow up on Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential race, an investigation that widened to include an inquiry into possible obstruction of justice by Trump.

Trump's comments come a day after Attorney General William Barr testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the same day Barr refused to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.


https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/05/02/trump-not-let-mcgahn-testify-before-congress/3656604002/
18 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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kentuck

(111,110 posts)
3. Surely, somewhere in this world, there is a Republican with a pair....
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:19 AM
May 2019

This guy has created a Party of eunuchs.

malaise

(269,186 posts)
4. The fact that he allowed McGahn to speak to the Special Counsel
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:20 AM
May 2019

means he can speak to the branch of government responsible for oversight and checks and balances. Fuck the Con.

lark

(23,158 posts)
6. Subpoena him today
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:21 AM
May 2019

Everything that drumpf gets away with just empowers him to comit more treachery and vile destruction of our country and it's way of life.

uponit7771

(90,364 posts)
9. Hmmm, how is Red Don going to "let" anyone do anything who's a private citizen and isn't
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:24 AM
May 2019

... under the direction of the executive any longer.

What the hell kinda crap is that ?!

CincyDem

(6,387 posts)
10. And, as usual, his understanding of government is flawed.
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:26 AM
May 2019


He's acting like Don McGahn was his personal lawyer without understanding that he's the President's lawyer. The former works for him personally but the latter works for the government.

He can't shut him down personally. If he wants to stifle McGahn he's got to formally invoke Exec Privilege (eliminating his "never claimed..." mantra) and then let it go to the courts a la Watergate. It's a crap shoot for sure with SCOTUS but it's playing the odds. Just accepting Trump's resistance mean 0% chance of hearing from McGahn...forcing his hand and fighting it increases those odds even if still below 50%.

If a lie can travel twice around the world while the truth is still putting its pants on, time for congressional leaders to realize what a lie can do while they're trying to decide what pair of pants to put on, realize that they don't like the color choices, go shopping, take it to a tailor to get fitted and then decide that they can't put them on until they find matching shoes. Let's get moving.

better

(884 posts)
18. And above and beyond the issue of WHC serving the office, not the man...
Fri May 3, 2019, 11:30 AM
May 2019

There's the issue of the fact that McGahn is now the former White House Counsel, and thus now a private citizen. And on top of that, there's the issue that executive privilege does not extend to people, it extends to conversations, and that cat is already out of the bag. He missed his window to claim executive privilege when he let McGahn speak freely to the OSC.

NoMoreRepugs

(9,470 posts)
12. Keep ratcheting up the pressure on his Orangeness
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:29 AM
May 2019

from every possible angle and let the American public see how tRumpy and his minions are violating the Constitution at every turn.

NewJeffCT

(56,829 posts)
15. Hollow Threat
Fri May 3, 2019, 09:58 AM
May 2019

Trump let him testify to Mueller already and has bashed McGahn on Twitter.

Trump loses any claim of executive privilege because of both of those things.

The judge should make him pay McGahn's and the House's legal fees and slap the lawyers with penalties as well.

empedocles

(15,751 posts)
16. McGahn has his own interests in this, and appears to be an accomplished strategist.
Fri May 3, 2019, 10:04 AM
May 2019

Strategy is a good opponent for trump tic Tactics.

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