If Watergate happened today, the Justice Department argued in court Tuesday, the grand jury report that contributed greatly to President Richard Nixon’s resignation would not be released to Congress.
I sure hope that Trump and Cipollone’s letter to Pelosi saying the WH will not cooperate at all and basically saying he intends to continue to obstruct and stonewall … well, I just hope that doesn’t influence the Court’s decision on releasing this grand jury info to Congress.
And in skimming through the letter to the House, I see the WH lawyers seem to believe they have no other option than to resort to the “accuse the opposing side of doing what you are doing.”
“The answer would be that if that same case came today, a different result would be obtained,” DOJ attorney Elizabeth Shapiro answered
She then continued “… because, your Honor, we today are unfettered by such old-fashioned considerations as ‘integrity’ or ‘patriotism’.”
“Wow, okay,” replied Chief Judge Beryl Howell, of the D.C. District Court.
And that was just her reaction to reading the first page of secret Mueller grand jury testimony…
Shapiro then told the judge that crime is “only in the eye of the beholder” and “what is life anyway?”
Teapot Dome. Watergate.
and now,
Quid Pro D’oh
This is a specious argument only posed to delay. No judge would buy it.
so the DOJ legal defense so far is that the watergate report was given to congress after a impeachment vote was cast and since there hasnt been an impeachment vote now there saying the grand jury stuff cant be released to congress…so the inquiry isnt legal?
with the nixon and clinton impeachments the had been a impeachment vote before the impeachment inquiry…
Clearly biased against Our President.
A question to our resident attorneys: can a judge saying, “Wow. Okay.” to your attorney ever be a good thing?
“We are in an impeachment inquiry, an impeachment investigation, a formal impeachment investigation, because the House says it is,” House counsel Doug Letter argued.
And that’s the facts Jack. House gets to say what, when, where, and how the impeachment proceedings progress. No one else.
What sentient being wouldn’t be?
Jay Sekulow is everywhere these last couple of days.
“Elected officials are not bound merely by the letter of the law but also by the unwritten traditions and etiquette of their predecessors” is a fascinating position for this administration to take.
“Watergate Jury Report Would Have Stayed Secret Today, DOJ Argues In Mueller Docs Case”
That may be true but it’s because Trump is 100 times the gangster that Nixon was.
I don’t think “the department is taking an extraordinary position in this case” is a good sign either.
However, [the judge] acknowledged the Department of Justice’s argument that the House hasn’t formally voted to authorize an impeachment inquiry. Such a vote would “make my life very much easier,” she said, per Politico.
At some point, after even more time has been wasted, Democratic leadership will finally acquiesce.
At that point, we will all praise them (again) for the excellent job they have been doing, and for their wisdom as well, which, like Trump’s, is always “great and unmatched.”
With the way things broke, Pelosi only announced the inquiry with 3 days left before the recess. Debatable about whether she would have had a solid majority then.
But with the way things have played out over the recess, there’s no way she loses a vote when they return next week. And they likely will do that, just to show that the WH won’t comply anyway, even when they do that.
They need to get this to SCOTUS ASAP so we can all see where the nation stands. If the Supreme Court won’t free everything up, that’s the ball game. Then it’ll be time to hold and roll, and maybe figure out a new tack.