On Monday's edition of CNN's "The Situation Room," former prosecutor and senior justice correspondent Evan Perez broke down how the federal court ruling ordering former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify to Congress deals a major blow to President Donald Trump's legal arguments against investigations of his administration.
"I think the most important thing the judge is saying, just because you work for the president and work very, very close, at the top of the food chain there at the White House, doesn't mean you don't have to even show up for what is a lawful subpoena," said Perez. "It says, 'As a matter of law, senior-level current presidential aides, including White House Counsels, must appear before Congress if compelled by legislative process to do so. This means that such aides cannot defy a congressional subpoena on the basis of absolute testimonial immunity, even if the president for whom they work (or worked) demands that response.'"
"She goes on to talk about the fact it doesn't matter whether you worked as White House counsel or in national security," said Perez. "That's an important thing, because what the White House has been arguing, the Justice Department has been arguing, there's a certain number of people, very close aides to the president in national security here, that they enjoy 'super immunity.' Don McGahn has absolute immunity. They're saying there is another category, super immunity. She is going ahead and striking down not only those arguments, the current arguments Don McGahn has been making, but these other ones, saying you have to show up."
"You can still absolutely say, I can't answer those questions because that goes to executive privilege and fight that out," added Perez. "You are not allowed to stiff the Congress just because you say you have absolute immunity."
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