Don McGahn (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings. … This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control. Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. …
[A]s far as the duty to appear is concerned, this Court holds that Executive branch officials are not absolutely immune from compulsory congressional process—no matter how many times the Executive branch has asserted as much over the years—even if the President expressly directs such officials’ non-compliance.
This result is unavoidable as a matter of basic constitutional law…. Today, this Court adds that this conclusion is inescapable precisely because compulsory appearance by dint of a subpoena is a legal construct, not a political one, and per the Constitution, no one is above the law.
— Judge Kentanji Brown Jackson (D.D.C.), ruling in a sharp rebuke to the Trump administration’s repeated assertions that both current and former presidential aides — like former White House counsel Don McGahn, whom you may recall decided to resign after President Trump allegedly asked him to “do crazy shit” — have “absolute immunity” from compelled testimony as part of the House’s impeachment inquiry. McGahn’s lawyer said his client would comply with the ruling unless it is stayed pending appeal. The Justice Department has vowed to appeal.
(Flip to the next page to read the ruling in full.)
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.