Former President Donald Trump was made aware of the subpoenas for documents requested of his former administration and he's threatening to invoke his power as the president. There's just one problem: he's not the president anymore. After the statement from Trump was reported, legal experts...
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Why Trump’s threats to block Jan. 6 committee won't work: former FBI deputy
Former President Donald Trump was made aware of the subpoenas for documents requested of his former administration and he's threatening to invoke his power as the president. There's just one problem: he's not the president anymore.
After the statement from Trump was reported, legal experts explained that his attempts are likely to be difficult.
In July, the New York Times and Politico reported that the Department of Justice has now informed Trump administration witnesses that it "does not support an assertion of executive privilege — in its presidential communications" and "deliberative process." The department then advised witnesses in other cases that they can give "unrestricted testimony," which is how it was revealed Trump tried to manipulate the Justice Department to overthrow the 2020 election.
The thought is that executive privilege would protect the administration's confidential communication as it relates to what's going on in the administration. If the administration no longer exists, are those protections necessary given that the communications are no longer related to what's going on in the administration?
It "would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege with respect to communications with former President Trump and his advisers and staff on matters related to the committee's proposed interviews," the DOJ said in their decision.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, former FBI deputy director Andy McCabe told Don Lemon that he has been skeptical of the committee, but seeing this request today "is a very good sign that they are, in fact, embracing all the possible aspects of this attack on our democracy."
Lemon mentioned that the committee is asking about information involving Trump's children and his wife, which isn't typically something congressional committees seek. But McCabe explained that during that Jan. 6 rally his children were also there. There have been at least two books published that talked about the role Ivanka Trump played on Jan. 6 in persuading her father to stop the violence. So, while it may be unusual in most cases, there is a reason for this one.
"As you mentioned, we've all been down this road before, but there's a lot at stake here in this request," he went on. "And every agency, every entity, the National Archives are not going to be able to wholesale deny the requests simply because the president may be mounting some sort of a legal challenge. You know, the National Archives — we have laws and regulations in this country that require the National Archives to preserve these sorts of records for exactly this purpose. So, we may end up litigating around the edges, particularly around some of the specific White House information, but there's a lot of that the other agencies have to offer here, and I think there's -- you know, we'll probably have more success getting information from DHS, from the FBI and from DOJ."
See the video below:
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