Hicks won't talk about Trump White House in interview

[turbinetree]

By MARY CLARE JALONICK and LAURIE KELLMAN today

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former top White House adviser Hope Hicks is refusing to answer questions related to her time in the White House in an interview with the House Judiciary Committee, dimming Democrats’ chances of obtaining new or substantive information about President Donald Trump as part of their investigation into obstruction of justice.

Less than an hour into the interview, frustrated Democrats taking breaks from the meeting said Hicks and her lawyer were following White House orders to stay quiet about her time there working for Trump. She was answering some questions about her time on Trump’s campaign, the lawmakers said.

“She’s objecting to stuff that’s already in the public record,” said California Rep. Karen Bass. “It’s pretty ridiculous.”

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., called her answers “a farce.” California Rep. Ted Lieu tweeted about the interview, writing that Hicks refused to answer even innocuous questions such as whether she had previously testified before Congress.

https://www.apnews.com/9daa8d7f589643c48feeff04395278dc

She can play this game for only so long..................................my attitude charge her for willful obstruction and have a court force her to testify in public, enough of this bullshit.........................

[Turbineguy]

1. Deny Everything

[turbinetree]

2. Yepper spot on.............................

[jaysunb]

3. This is exactly why the hearing should have been public.

Let the whole world witness the shit show.

[turbinetree]

5. I think the committee is going to have to force these people to testify in public with a court order

..................................enough of this crap................I want to see these people visibility obstructing justice live on TV just like during the Nixon crap..........................then the people of this country can fully understand how dangerous these people really are and how the criminal enterprise is being run with that asshole flying around on Airforce 1.........................

[duforsure]

4. The truth will come back to haunt her

When it's exposed she knew about lots of crimes going on, and now covering it up for herself and for trump, and justice catches up with her.

[samnsara]

6. lock her up....

[turbinetree]

7. Yepper spot on.............................and then she will cooperate.........................

let her spend a couple days in the slammer within the general population.........................

[Gothmog]

8. John Dean explains the big mistake Hope Hicks made by stonewalling Congres

Link to tweet

“Privilege is not being asserted here. Instead, the White House says that Hicks has absolute immunity regarding the time that she spent at 1600 Pennsylvania. Does absolute immunity even exist? And if so, can you explain to me the difference between the two?” CNN host Brooke Baldwin asked Dean.

“There is no such thing as absolute immunity for anybody to appear before Congress,” he replied. “When the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Nixon case, they absolutely said that there was no absolute privilege, rather it had to be weighed in each instance as to the needs for those who are asking for the information and the person who’s resisting giving the information.”

“Absolute privileges are very rare in the law. And they’re always this balancing process. This total immunity is part of the so-called executive theory of unitary executive theory that will theoretically make the person immune to Congress. And that just doesn’t play in our system.”

[turbinetree]

9. I guess the next time people get busted........................they can claim absolute executive

privilege through out the land....................she is going to find out that the court in my opinion is not going to like this..................................I want to read her Grand Jury Testimony..................and then have her come back in and testify in public, and watch her plead the fifth..........................

[Gothmog]

10. Hope Hicks 'has some legal exposure'

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

11. Hope Hicks' latest obstruction just gave Democrats a major weapon:

Link to tweet

“Perhaps surprisingly, there’s no controlling legal authority defining the breadth of what aides can testify to,” Carlson wrote. “With all its limitations — in private, surrounded by lawyers, with a dry transcript to come days later — Hicks’ appearance gave Democrats, with no time to waste, a promising case to take to court to challenge the White House’s definition of immunity.”

Hicks refused to answer even the most basic questions about her service in the White House, which ended early last year, and House Democrats could use that to challenge her claims to immunity.

“Even under the broadest interpretation, immunity doesn’t extend to where you sit at work,” Carlson wrote. “(House Judiciary chairman Jerry) Nadler predicted after Hicks left, ‘We will destroy them in court.'”