A federal appeals court ruled that President Donald Trump’s former White House counsel Don McGahn must comply with a House subpoena and testify. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said McGahn’s refusal to testify is grounds for the House to sue, in a victory for House Democrats. The court ruled 7-2.
President Trump had sought to bar McGahn from testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and had asked the Supreme Court to step in to avoid having the spotlight on McGahn before a Democrat-led congressional panel ahead of November’s general election.
The “effective functioning of the Legislative Branch critically depends on the legislative prerogative to obtain information, and constitutional structure and historical practice support judicial enforcement of congressional subpoenas when necessary,†Judge Judith Rogers wrote for the majority.
The decision does not mean McGahn will testify right away. Now the decision reverts to the initial three-judge panel that ruled against the House to consider McGahn’s other challenges to the subpoena.
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BREAKING: The Appeals Court rules that the House Judiciary Committee has standing to enforce its MCGAHN subpoena. pic.twitter.com/kb4MOjwUQr
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 7, 2020
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
