Fox News host Shepard Smith on Wednesday started off his show by blasting President Donald Trump for trying to prevent his former White House counsel for testifying to Congress.
"President Trump told The Washington Post there's no reason to go any further in allowing his aides to testify before congressional committees because it's very partisan. But the House Judiciary chairman, Jerry Nadler of New York, says the president doesn't have the power to stop [former White House official Don] McGahn from testifying in front of lawmakers," Smith explained.
"Nadler said it would be one more act of obstruction from the White House. The way to stop the testimony would be for the president to exert executive privilege over the conversations. Under the law, though, he can't. That ship sailed long ago. When the president allowed his lawyer to testify before Mueller's team, that was a waive of executive privilege. He can't unwaive it now.
"Legal analysts say the law is clear and tested. So why the fight? Well, here's the reality. It's one thing to have words somewhere in a 450-page document that the president told his lawyer to fire the special counsel and then directed him to lie about it."
"It's quite another to have McGahn say on national television in a live hearing, 'The president directed me to fire the special counsel but I wouldn't. Later the president directed me to lie about it to the American people, but I didn't,'" Smith continued.
"As a former television producer, that is likely not the president's desired afternoon programing on 10 different TV channels at the same time. And there's more. This battle could set up other legal showdowns as House Democrats step up their investigations into Trump after the Mueller report's revelations."
