Pondering Impeachment, House Sues Don McGahn, Ex-White House Counsel, for Testimony
Source: nytimes
By Nicholas Fandos and Charlie Savage Aug. 7, 2019
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee sued on Wednesday to force the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II to testify before Congress, asking a federal judge to strike down the Trump administration’s claim that top presidential aides are “absolutely immune” from its subpoenas.
In a filing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the Judiciary Committee identified Mr. McGahn as “the most important witness, other than the president, to the key events” at the center of its investigation into possible obstruction of justice by President Trump — behavior detailed by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, that the committee said could warrant impeachment.
“The Judiciary Committee is now determining whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the president based on the obstructive conduct described by the special counsel,” the filing said. “But it cannot fulfill this most solemn constitutional responsibility without hearing testimony from a crucial witness to these events: former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II.”
[Read the Judiciary Committee’s lawsuit.]
The House lawsuit signaled that more was at stake than the testimony of a single witness. It suggested that the Trump administration was seeking to establish a broad precedent shielding top presidential advisers from Congress, even those no longer working for the White House. And it urged the court to move quickly to preserve the House’s ability to consider impeachment before the current Congress ends in January 2021.............................
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/07/us/politics/don-mcgahn-subpoena.html
Slowly slowly, justice does roll on. yes. it. does.
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The Judiciary Committee hopes a federal judge will strike down the White House’s “absolute immunity” claims, clearing the way for testimony from key witnesses to the special counsel.
Image Donald F. McGahn II, then the White House counsel, in 2018. Mr. McGahn was a key witness in the Mueller report.
Donald F. McGahn II, then the White House counsel, in 2018. Mr. McGahn was a key witness in the Mueller report.CreditCreditErin Schaff for The New York Times
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"House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referenced the lawsuit in a letter to colleagues Wednesday, in another signal that she's opening the door to considering impeachment. Pelosi cited the committee's earlier lawsuit that argued it the information for the House to consider "'whether to exercise its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity — approval of articles of impeachment.'"
"Pelosi signed off on the language in the McGahn lawsuit that said that the committee was trying to decide whether to impeach Trump, according to an aide to the speaker."
"Earlier this week, Nadler laid out a timeline for impeachment, saying that his panel could move to impeach Trump by the end of the year — an ambitious timeline given the multiple court cases the committee is fighting. Democratic committee aides said Wednesday that they hoped to convince the court that the case was an "emergency" to expedite the court proceedings." 
"McGahn's testimony is a key piece of that effort, Democrats say, because he was a key witness in the Mueller report -- especially its second section, about instances when the President may have attempted to obstruct the investigation. The special counsel's investigation documented how Trump told McGahn to fire the special counsel, which he did not do, and then told McGahn to lie publicly about Trump telling him to dismiss Mueller. McGahn's statements to Mueller's team were cited more than 150 times in the report -- more than any other witness."
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/07/politics/don-mcgahn-lawsuit-impeachment/index.html
