The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel released a new legal opinion stating that subpoenas from House Democrats in their impeachment investigation into President Trump will be considered “legally invalid” if Trump administration witnesses aren’t allowed to have an attorney with them while testifying.
The new legal stance by the Trump DOJ is detailed in a five-page legal memo dated Nov. 1, just one day after the House of Representatives voted to formalize the opening of its impeachment process stemming from a Ukraine whistleblower in a near-party-line vote. Republicans had previously complained about the closed-door nature of the impeachment proceedings as well as the lack of a launch vote, but the new legal justification by DOJ could escalate the battle over the Trump administration’s lack of cooperation with the House, as the Trump administration continues to slow-walk some information requests and stonewall some subpoenas.
“Congressional committees participating in an impeachment inquiry may not validly compel executive branch witnesses to testify about matters that potentially involve information protected by executive privilege without the assistance of agency counsel,” Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel wrote. “Congressional subpoenas that purport to require executive branch witnesses to appear without agency counsel in these circumstances are legally invalid and are not subject to civil or criminal enforcement.”
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3 comments:
Why should they need attorneys?
The dumbocrats must think that they have successfully transformed the US into Russia.
The dumbocrats are attacking the constitution every day.
If Congress subpoenaed you you would not want an attorney with you? You would be a fool not to have one!
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