House Judiciary Chair Nadler says Congress will not allow Trump to block subpoenas after McGahn's no-show
The subpoena wars continue.
House Democrats on Tuesday gathered to to hear testimony concerning Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into 2016 Russian election interference. But, for the second time this month, the witness did not show up. Former White House Counsel Don McGahn followed in the footsteps of Attorney General William Barr, who refused to appear before the House Judiciary Committee earlier in May.
McGahn was directly instructed by the White House to defy a subpoena for his appearance, based on a Justice Department opinion that his former role in the White House means he cannot be compelled to testify about his official duties.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) feels quite differently, however. He made that clear as the hearing, which went on — albeit briefly — even without McGahn. Nadler did acknowledge that McGahn did not "blindly" participate in unethical behavior during Mueller's investigation, but that doesn't mean he's off the hook when it comes to testimony. The congressman tossed aside the White House's stance on McGahn's obligation, arguing that he must show up, and that the Trump administration must cease its meddling in such cases altogether.
Ultimately the debate over whether McGahn must testify will be decided by the courts, Fox News' senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said on Tuesday.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Moon dust has earthly elements thanks to a magnetic bridgeUnder the radar The substances could help supply a lunar base
-
World’s oldest rock art discovered in IndonesiaUnder the Radar Ancient handprint on Sulawesi cave wall suggests complexity of thought, challenging long-held belief that human intelligence erupted in Europe
-
Claude Code: the viral AI coding app making a splash in techThe Explainer Engineers and noncoders alike are helping the app go viral
-
The billionaires’ wealth tax: a catastrophe for California?Talking Point Peter Thiel and Larry Page preparing to change state residency
-
Hegseth moves to demote Sen. Kelly over videospeed read Retired Navy fighter pilot Mark Kelly appeared in a video reminding military service members that they can ‘refuse illegal orders’
-
Trump says US ‘in charge’ of Venezuela after Maduro grabSpeed Read The American president claims the US will ‘run’ Venezuela for an unspecified amount of time, contradicting a statement from Secretary of State Marco Rubio
-
Bari Weiss’ ‘60 Minutes’ scandal is about more than one reportIN THE SPOTLIGHT By blocking an approved segment on a controversial prison holding US deportees in El Salvador, the editor-in-chief of CBS News has become the main story
-
CBS pulls ‘60 Minutes’ report on Trump deporteesSpeed Read An investigation into the deportations of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador’s notorious prison was scrapped
-
Trump administration posts sliver of Epstein filesSpeed Read Many of the Justice Department documents were heavily redacted, though new photos of both Donald Trump and Bill Clinton emerged
-
Trump HHS moves to end care for trans youthSpeed Read The administration is making sweeping proposals that would eliminate gender-affirming care for Americans under age 18
-
Jack Smith tells House of ‘proof’ of Trump’s crimesSpeed Read President Donald Trump ‘engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election,’ hoarded classified documents and ‘repeatedly tried to obstruct justice’
