McGahn’s empty chair upsets Dems
Former White House counsel fails to show at committee hearing
WASHINGTON» Former White House counsel Donald McGahn was a no-show Tuesday at a House committee hearing, infuriating Democrats who are ramping up calls to start impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump despite continued resistance from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
During an opening statement, House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., vowed that his panel would eventually hear McGahn’s testimony about alleged obstruction of
justice by Trump “even if we have to go to court to secure it.”
“We will not allow the president to block congressional subpoenas, putting himself and his allies above the law,” Nadler said. “We will not allow the president to stop this investigation, and nothing in these unjustified and unjustifiable legal attacks will stop us from pressing forward with our work on behalf of the American people. We will hold this president accountable, one way or the other.”
Nadler’s remarks came at the outset of the second “empty chair” hearing this month held by the Judiciary Committee. Three weeks ago, Attorney General William Barr declined to appear.
Tuesday’s hearing lasted 23 minutes, as Democrats moved to adjourn after Nadler and Rep. Douglas Collins of Georgia, the committee’s top Republican member, had delivered opening statements.
Collins accused Democrats of being more interested in creating theater than conducting oversight of the Trump administration. “Cameras love a spectacle, and Democrats covet the chance to rant against this administration,” Collins said.
Democrats declined to press for a vote to hold McGahn in contempt of Congress, but Nadler suggested the move could be taken soon if “he does not immediately correct his mistake” of declining to appear.
The White House announced Monday that it would block McGahn from testifying, the latest act of defiance in the ongoing conflict between House Democrats and Trump.
Democrats hoped McGahn would become a star witness in their investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice, given that the former White House counsel delivered critical testimony in several instances of potential obstruction by Trump detailed in the report by special counsel Robert Mueller.
A 15-page legal opinion written by Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel argued that McGahn could not be compelled to testify before the Judiciary Committee, based on past Justice Department legal opinions regarding the president’s close advisers.
The memo said McGahn’s immunity from congressional testimony was separate and broader than a claim of executive privilege.
During his remarks, Nadler asserted that case law is on the committee’s side and accused Trump of seeking to intimidate McGahn from appearing, calling that “not remotely acceptable.”
“When this committee issues a subpoena — even to a senior presidential adviser — the witness must show up,” Nadler said. “Our subpoenas are not optional.”
McGahn’s no-show was the latest episode in a sweeping attempt by Trump and his administration to resist oversight by the Democrats-led House.
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday also issued subpoenas to Trump’s former top staffer, Hope Hicks, and Annie Donaldson, formerly McGahn’s chief of staff, as part of its expansive probe into potential abuse of power, public corruption and obstruction.
The committee, which voted to authorize the subpoenas weeks ago, is particularly interested in Donaldson, who took detailed notes of McGahn’s exchanges with the president.
The panel also believes that Hicks, a longtime close confidant of Trump’s, likely knows details on several topics they are probing.
Separately on Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers notified a federal judge that they have appealed “all aspects” of his Monday ruling that the president’s accounting firm must turn over his financial records to Congress.
In a ruling Monday, the judge flatly rejected arguments from the president’s lawyers that the House Oversight Committee’s demands for the records from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, were overly broad and served no legitimate legislative function.
Pelosi has scheduled a Democratic caucus meeting for Wednesday morning to discuss updates on oversight and investigations, according to two Democrats briefed on her plans who requested anonymity to discuss a meeting that has not been publicly announced. Members expect the meeting will include a robust discussion of whether to launch an impeachment inquiry against Trump.
Pelosi has long been an impeachment skeptic and tried to tamp down impeachment talk in her ranks as recently as last week by encouraging members to focus on their legislative agenda.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday that Trump was “conducting one of the biggest coverups of any administration in the history of the United States,” but he stopped short of calling for an immediate impeachment inquiry. “I don’t think we’re there at this point in time,” Hoyer said.
“I don’t ... think there’s any Democrat who probably wouldn’t in their gut say, ‘You know he’s done some things that probably justify impeachment,’ ” Hoyer continued. “Having said that, and this is the important point, I think the majority of Democrats continue to believe that we need to continue to pursue the avenue that we’ve been on in trying to elicit information, testimony, review the Mueller report, review other items that have gone on. And if the facts lead us to a broader action, so be it.”
But calls to launch an impeachment inquiry have escalated since the White House’s announcement Monday that McGahn would not testify.
Rep. Maxine Waters, DCalif., said she agrees that the court victory Monday was an encouraging sign. But she told reporters that “winding your way through the courts could take a lot of time.”
“We also know that this is something that the president has relied upon in his business dealings, that he can win in the courts because he can outlast those who are bringing lawsuits against him,” Waters said in explaining her support for launching an impeachment inquiry. “So, while I have a great appreciation for that ruling ... I still think we should move forward.”
During a television appearance Tuesday morning, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said he and “a lot” of other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee were eager to launch an impeachment inquiry because they had seen ample evidence of “high crimes” committed by Trump. “The logic may be inescapable,” Raskin said on MSNBC. “I would totally support opening an impeachment inquiry at this point.”
Other Democrats cautioned that beginning the impeachment process would overshadow work on legislation important to their constituents.
“I believe in checks and balances and the constitutional division of powers,” said Rep. Elissa Slotkin, DMich. “But I also know that I get stopped in the grocery store constantly, and what people are asking about is the price of health care and the price of prescription drugs . ... I think the perception is that Washington is more focused on the checks and balances than they are on actually helping people’s pocketbooks and their kids. And that’s a real problem.”