Politics - News Analysis

GOP Admits It, ‘You Gotta Follow a Court Order:’ So McCarthy and Jim Jordan Should Be Very Worried

It appears to be sinking in with House Republicans that, given they no longer control the White House, and given that this is a House investigation that doesn’t use any of the asinine anti-democratic rules used by a gridlocked Senate, the MAGA reps might very well have some issues when it comes to being subpoenaed for testimony. Several of them, perhaps Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, or even Josh Hawley (We do not know how it goes whether one branch can call another, it’s just another weird thing), some GOP reps might go through some things.

First of all, as everyone heard yesterday, there is direct evidence now that Trump intended to use “members of Congress” to proceed on what Trump called the fraudulent election. This fact alone gives the committee legitimate justification to demand testimony.

Additionally, Bennie Thompson, the Democrat from Mississippi leading the Committee is not playing around, according to the Washington Post:

Several congressional Republicans have admitted to having some contact with President Donald Trump during the insurrection or in the days leading up to it, making their testimony potentially key to the panel’s stated goal of being “guided solely by the facts.”

If the public knows that a congressman or senator spoke to Trump on January 6th or a period just before January 6th and the committee has evidence indicating something nefarious might be going on, it would look horrible for that legislator to refuse to testify without regard to the legal grounds utilized. It would be akin to taking the 5th, which is everyone’s right, but only when an answer might implicate them in a crime. It cannot be used against them in a court of law. It most certainly can be used by the public as a “problem.”

The Jan. 6 panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), said in an interview that there is “no reluctance to subpoena” any member of Congress “whose testimony is germane to the mission of the select committee” if they resist cooperating voluntarily.

There is very little precedent for calling members of the House to testify to the House. On the other hand, it’s fairly unprecedented to have House members (or senate) possibly involved in a possible attempted coup. So there’s that.

The biggest difference now is that DOJ has already told former administration officials that they cannot be precluded from testifying. If Trump says he has executive privilege, the former administration officials can ignore him. If Trump then goes to court and tries to block their testimony, he will be fighting DOJ, not assisted by his own corrupt DOJ. He will have to pay for it on his own (or that would be our belief, though it’s unprecedented).

Republicans do understand that in the end, there could be no place to run and no place to hide. If a representative goes to court to block the subpoena and the court says “No,” well – they can appeal, which normally takes a long time, but in certain emergency situations, an appeal can be expedited… and then we worry about the Supreme Court backing their man, Trump. But it is not obvious that they would. There could be a lot of evidence out by then.

If a court orders them to testify, well:

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) said that while it’s “appropriate” for members to question whether a subpoena is justified, “if the court orders you to testify, I think you’ve got to follow a court order. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), meanwhile, whom McCarthy had pitched as one of his five picks to serve on the panel, said only that he hoped “any subpoena process is not just a partisan act.”

It is not partisan when there could be evidence dripping out indicating that someone had a very disturbing relationship with the events that transpired that day.

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[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak

meet the author

Jason Miciak is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is originally from Canada but grew up in the Pacific Northwest. He now enjoys life as a single dad raising a ridiculously-loved young girl on the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He is very much the dreamy mystic, a day without learning is a day not lived. He is passionate about his flower pots and studies philosophical science, religion, and non-mathematical principles of theoretical physics. Dogs, pizza, and love are proof that God exists. "Above all else, love one another."

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