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Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean explained on Tuesday how the select committee can compel former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone to testify.
Dean, who was convicted and disbarred for his role in Watergate, was interviewed by CNN's Phil Mattingly.
Mattingly noted Dean's response when the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol subpoenaed Cipollone
"Do not go the same route traveled with other Trump officials. The House must change its rules to invoke INHERENT CONTEMPT. End the nonsense of subpoena noncompliance by relying on DOJ or courts when Congress has the power to compel. Force Cipollone’s hand! Dean tweeted.
Dean explained his thinking.
"Historically, the House of Representatives gives each of its committees the power to enforce its subpoenas. It's been done historically, hasn't been done since the '30s because in the interim they started relying on the Department of Justice or bringing civil lawsuits to enforce subpoenas," he explained. "But this puts you at the mercy of the person you're trying to get a subpoena on."
they control and can influence the lawsuit, how -- when they file it, how complex they make it, and the department of justice may or may not enforce the subpoena. we don't -- you're somewhat at their mercy. they have their own rules in the office of legal counsel as to when a white house witness doesn't have to respond.
"So avoid all that, go to the inherent contempt. It's a simple change of the House rules, and there are a number of resolutions that have been introduced in each Congress for the House to do it," he explained. "They could do it in one afternoon."
Congress is scheduled to remain on vacation until July 12.
"They could resolve this, and they could strip Cipollone of his leverage, which is the threat of a lawsuit," Dean argued. "And you know, they could tell him we want you up here, you're going to be on camera, and you're going answer all our questions, or you're going to be in contempt of the House, and that can be, whatever the rules change it to, make it $10,000 a day if you don't testify."
"That will get his attention. That will get him talking in front of the committee, too," Dean predicted.
Dean has previously voiced support for legislation by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) that was cosponsored by Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI), Val Demings (D-FL), Jaime Raskin (D-MD), Madeline Dean (D-PA) and Joe Neguse (D-CO),
Watch:
John Dean www.youtube.com
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Nebraska special election illustrates the potential power of abortion issue for Democrats: analysis
July 02, 2022
Democrats hoping the conservative Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade will help their candidates in the 2022 midterm elections were invigorated by the results of the first congressional election since the ruling.
The rare, summertime special election was held to fill the vacancy created when Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) resigned from Congress after being convicted on three felony charges.
"Nebraska’s first election following the U.S. Supreme Court’s abortion ruling offered an eye-opening glimpse of the issue’s power to drive voters and affect political outcomes," the Omaha World Herald reported on Saturday. "True, Republican State Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk won Tuesday’s special election to fill Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District seat, as expected. But Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln came closer than any 1st District Democrat has done in decades. She ended up with nearly 47% of the vote in the two-way race and plenty of optimism about closing the gap to win a general election rematch in November."
The Democratic Party nominee in the district has not received more than 40% of the vote in the district since the 2006 blue wave, when Maxine Moul received 42% of the vote against Fortenberry.
Reporter Martha Stoddard interviewed Kevin Smith, chair of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science department.
“The closeness of the election was a genuine surprise to a lot of people,” Smith said. “The 1st District has not been considered competitive before.”
Both campaigns believe the abortion ruling played a large role in the closeness of the race.
Jessica Flanagain of the Flood campaign told the newspaper, “I definitely think the left was upset and fearful."
“That’s a great motivator," she noted.
Pansing Brooks campaign manager Chris Triebsch believes it's the start of a trend.
“We’re still on the front end of that momentum as people become more aware of the full impact” of the ruling, Triebsch said. “I think people are very worried.”
The Nebraska Examiner reported on a study conducted by the Flood campaign.
"Fewer voters in the 1st District’s GOP-leaning counties voted in the special election than participated a month earlier in the May 10 primary election," the newspaper reported. "Voting in each of those counties was down by at least 18%, based on a post-election analysis done for Flood’s campaign. Additionally, 3% more voters showed up for the special election in Democratic-leaning Lancaster County than voted during the primary."
Danielle Conrad, a former Democratic state lawmaker, told the AP it was a "thrilling result."
“Patty far outpaced the conventional wisdom," he said. "I don’t think anybody expected her to perform this well in such a tough district.”
Democratic consultant Adrienne Elrod told the AP Democratic groups are seeing the results as a sign of momentum.
“I think they’re going to look at this as a bellwether, in a very positive way,” Elrod said.
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Arizona GOP election official quits over threats from ‘nasty’ Trump supporters: report
July 02, 2022
Donald Trump's continued lies about the 2020 presidential election he lost has resulted in the loss of yet another GOP official.
"The elected county recorder and the elections director in Arizona’s Yavapai County are resigning after more than a year and a half of threats and heated criticism from backers of former President Donald Trump who accept his lie that he lost the 2020 election because of fraud," the Associated Press reported Saturday. "County Recorder Leslie Hoffman said Friday that she is fed up with the "nastiness" and has accepted a job outside the county. Her last day will be July 22. She said longtime elections director Lynn Constabile is leaving for the same reason, and Friday is her last day."
The news comes less than a week after Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) revealed evidence of witness tampering during a public hearing of the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"A lot of it is the nastiness that we have dealt with," Hoffman said. "I’m a Republican recorder living in a Republican county where the candidate that they wanted to win won by 2-to-1 in this county and still getting grief, and so is my staff."
"I’m not sure what they think that we did wrong," she said. "And they’re very nasty. The accusations and the threats are nasty."
Ken Matta, the head of election security at the Arizona Secretary of State's office, quit his job in May, also citing the threats.
Early ballots for the August primary are to be mailed next week.
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