Donald Trump’s remaining henchmen are busting out every dirty trick left in the book
“President” Donald J. Trump has been in panic mode and doing what he normally does – throwing folks under the bus. Every day, there is just more and more that comes out and takes place, and it is hard to keep up. One thing that has not been focused on is the way that Trump has molded the courts or the ways in which his Justice Department is operating, taking bizarre views and positions in courts, including the Supreme Court.
On Friday, an appeal about the release of his tax returns by his accountant was decided by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. One of his appointees and former employees in the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Neomi Rao, was on the panel deciding the case and dissented. She wrote about her views that “[i]nvestigations of impeachable offenses simply are not, and never have been, within Congress’s legislative power.” She argued for courts to be involved in what is or isn’t impeachable, which is not what the Constitution says. But he has appointed a record number of judges to the Courts of Appeals and many are loyal ideologues, so we can expect much more of this.
Also this week, the Department of Justice filed a submission claiming that if the House impeachment inquiry sought the Mueller probe documents, the Executive Branch would likely cut off its information sharing with the House, if those requests are considered part of the inquiry and not just the Committee’s oversight function. This is backwards, as once an impeachment inquiry is underway, the House would be entitled to more, not fewer, documents
The House acts similar to a grand jury in the process and decides what impeachment articles, if any, are filed against the civil officer. The Trump regime’s position is not supported by law or history either. We must hope that the rule of law and precedent prevail, because Trump and his sycophants are going to try every trick to protect their fuhrer.
Daniel is a lawyer writing and teaching about SCOTUS, and is the author of the book “The Chief Justices” about the SCOTUS as seen through the center seat.