President Trump scored another major legal victory in the court late last week when a federal appeals court overturned a lower court’s decision that mandated former White House counsel Don McGahn to honor subpoenas issued by Democrats in the House.
Witness during the impeachment inquiry, constitutional law expert, Jonathan Turley reported that this decision has serious implications on the nature of Democrats’ efforts to impeach the President.
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision that McGahn could defy subpoenas issued by the House Judiciary Committee.
The court felt that the House did not have the constitutional authority to resolves the battle between the White House and Congress, requesting that Congress seek other ways outside of the judicial system.
“We cannot decide this case without declaring the actions of one [branch of government] or the other unconstitutional,” Appellate Judge Thomas Griffith wrote.
“If federal courts were to swoop in to rescue Congress whenever its constitutional tools failed, it would not just supplement the political process; it would replace that process with one in which unelected judges become the perpetual “overseer[s]” of our elected officials. That is not the role of judges in our democracy, and that is why Article III compels us to dismiss this case,” he explained.
The order “vindicated” the White House, destroying the Democrat’s second article of impeachment claiming that the President had obstructed Congress by having officials ignore congressional subpoenas.
“The White House is vindicated in showing that it had valid constitutional arguments to make — arguments ridiculed at the Senate trial,” Turley explained.
“I do not agree with the court’s analysis but I felt that Trump had a right to seek judicial review. Now that judicial review has shown that the court agrees with his constitutional position. It reaffirms the historic blunder of the House in rushing this impeachment,” he continued.
Turley then accused the Democrats of abusing power.
Rather than wait for courts to review immunity and privilege arguments, the House impeached Trump for seeking judicial review. Now the court says that he was right in raising his constitutional objections. Article 2 now looks like a case of prosecutorial excess, if not abuse.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) February 28, 2020
