Trump aides won’t escape trial: Judge
JUDGE’S DECISION IS A VICTORY FOR HOUSE DEMOCRATS
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Afederal judge strengthened the power of Congress in its battles with President Trump on Monday, ruling that former White House Counsel Donald McGahn may be required to testify under oath about what he heard and saw during special counsel Robert S Mueller III’s probe of Russian election meddling.
The judge’s decision upholding a congressional subpoena is a victory for House Democrats who have been anxious to establish a legal precedent that could force other top Trump administration officials to testify before Congress.
And although the case began as a result of the Mueller probe, it could have impact in the current impeachment proceedings against Trump. It sets the stage for what could be a historic court
■ test of the president’s ability to prevent senior aides from testifying.
In her ruling, US District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson rejected Trump’s claim that McGahn was “absolutely immune” from being called to testify, even though he was no longer a White House employee. McGahn was following Trump’s order not to cooperate with House investigators. “With respect to senior-level presidential aides, absolute immunity from compelled congressional process simply does not exist,” the judge wrote in a 120page opinion.
This claimed immunity “appears to be a fiction that has been fastidiously maintained over time through the force of sheer repetition” by lawyers for the current and previous administrations, she said.
“Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are not kings,” she wrote.
The ruling, if upheld on appeal, could affect a wide swath of senior officials. In addition to McGahn, House Democrats would like to obtain testimony from acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton, among others.