Federal judges are NOT having the idea that the Trump admin can just NOT answer summons for documents from Congress …
And this may wind up a LOT faster then Trump’s lawyers thought…
Trump’s argument is doomed to fail in the courts because the constitution gives the House the “full Power of Impeachment” and it could not exercise that authority without investigating presidential wrongdoing. Judge Mehta found that it is “simply not fathomable” that “a constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a president for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct—past or present—even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry.”
Wednesday’s ruling by Judge Edgardo Ramos made equally quick work of Trump’s argument that subpoenas to Deutsche Bank and Capitol One for his records lacked a “legitimate legislative purpose.” He found that argument “unpersuasive,” finding that it was “not the role of the judicial branch to question [Congress’s] motives.” He denied every one of Trump’s requests.
What is remarkable about these sweeping rulings is not the results, which were expected, but the speed with which they were issued. Judge Mehta issued his 41-page ruling just seven days after hearing arguments.
If Trump’s team is not alarmed by the speed and sweeping nature (not to mention the almost dismissive tone) of the two judgments against the president, it should be. Trump’s strategy on a variety of fronts has been to take extreme positions denying Congressional authority to investigate the presidency. On Monday, for example, the Office of Legal Counsel concluded that the President’s senior advisors are absolutely immune from subpoena to testify about their official duties. Buried on page nine of the memo was an admission that the only court to consider this issue had ruled to the contrary. Hiding an unfavorable precedent in this manner might work on a first-year law student, but it won’t fool a federal judge.