November 25, 2019

Judge Orders Trump’s Former White House Counsel to Testify Before Congress

Don McGahn “is not immune from compelled congressional process,” a judge says.

Melina Mara/ZUMA

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A federal judge has ordered Don McGahn, President Donald Trump’s former White House counsel, to comply with a subpoena issued last April by the House Judiciary Committee, dealing a blow to the White House’s ongoing efforts to prevent current and former officials from testifying before Congress. 

McGahn “is not immune from compelled congressional process” and “had no lawful basis for refusing to appear for testimony pursuant to the duly issued subpoena issued to him by the Committee on the Judiciary of the United States House of Representatives on April 22, 2019,” US District Court Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said in a order issued Monday evening. “Mr. McGahn’s failure to appear was without legal justification.”

McGahn was a key witness cited in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report released in April. The report cites McGahn’s description of efforts by Trump to compel him to fire Mueller, evidence of what Mueller described as a potential attempt by Trump to obstruct justice by blocking the special counsel’s investigation. Mueller declined to charge Trump for obstruction, due in a part to a Justice Department policy that bars indicting a sitting president. Despite cooperating with Mueller, McGahn refused to appear before the Judiciary Committee.

“Now that the court has ruled, I expect him to follow his legal obligations and promptly appear before the Committee,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said in a statement Monday.

Kerri Kupec, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department, which opposed Congress’ effort to compel McGahn’s testimony, said it will appeal Jackson’s decision and will seek a stay of the order pending the appeal.

Jackson’s ruling is the latest in a series of wins for House Democrats as they attempt to enforce subpoenas against the Trump administration, which has asserted absolute immunity from House oversight efforts.

*This article has been updated.

Read the full ruling below:

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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