Trump allies leaning on his executive privilege claims | TheHill – The Hill

Former President TrumpDonald TrumpRittenhouse says Biden defamed his character when linking him to white supremacists Overnight Health Care White House touts vaccine rate for feds Trump endorses challenger to Hogan ally in Maryland governor's race MORE's inner circle is leaning on unanswered legal questions about the scope of his authority to invoke executive privilege in their defiance of the House Jan. 6 select committee's subpoenas.

The former aides and advisers are following the example set by Trump, who is fighting in court to block the panel from obtaining hundreds of pages of internal White House records and arguing that he has the right as a former president to keep them out of Congress's hands.

Lawyers for former White House chief of staff Mark MeadowsMark MeadowsJan. 6 panel subpoenas Roger Stone, Alex Jones Christie: McCarthy, not Trump, will be the next Speaker Lofgren: Many Jan. 6 panel witnesses are former Trump officials MORE and former strategist Stephen Bannon argue that it would be premature to comply with the subpoenas before the courts can address the dispute over the scope and weight of Trumps executive privilege claims.

Democrats dispute the rationale offered by the Trump camp, accusing them of seeking to delay or stymie the Jan. 6 investigation, but the deadlock is raising the stakes for the committee as it seeks a quick and decisive court victory to secure the internal White House records. A ruling against the lawmakers could have a cascading effect among their would-be witnesses and sources.

The crux of Trumps suit isn't about his former aides but about his presidential records, held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which had been set to release a sweeping trove of documents covering every top staffer and even Trumps family on Jan. 6 following approval from President BidenJoe BidenRittenhouse says Biden defamed his character when linking him to white supremacists Man accused of threatening Congress sentenced to 19 months in prison 91 House Dems call on Senate to expand immigration protections in Biden spending bill MORE.

But lawyers for those aides say that the former presidents lawsuit will resolve unanswered questions about the weight of Trumps executive privilege claims now that hes no longer in office and provide legal clarity for how they should proceed in regards to the committees subpoenas.

Evan Corcoran, Bannons defense lawyer in the criminal contempt proceedings that the Justice Department brought earlier this month for defying a subpoena, told a federal judge last week that his clients case should not be rushed, partly because Trumps lawsuit will guide Bannons legal defense.

It'll be useful as we're shaping the arguments in the briefs for our motions practice to have the benefit of the judicial record and determinations that are made in that matter, Corcoran said during a pretrial hearing earlier this month.

George Terwilliger, a former deputy attorney general under the George H.W. Bush administration whos representing Meadows, has said that the sharp dispute over the scope of executive privilege between the select committee and Trumps inner circle should be aired in court.

Our correspondence over the last few weeks shows a sharp legal dispute with the committee, Terwilliger said in a statement earlier this month. The issues concern whether Mr. Meadows can be compelled to testify and whether, even if he could, that he could be forced to answer questions that involve privileged communications. Legal disputes are appropriately resolved by courts. It would be irresponsible for Mr. Meadows to prematurely resolve that dispute by voluntarily waiving privileges that are at the heart of those legal issues.

House Democrats have dismissed those objections as an effort to hinder the select committees investigation ahead of next year's midterm elections, which could bring the probe to an abrupt halt if Republicans recapture the lower chamber, as many poll watchers expect.

That's the same stall tactic that they've had for weeks, said Rep. Pete AguilarPeter (Pete) Ray AguilarAll eyes on Garland after Bannon contempt vote First senator formally endorses Bass in LA mayoral bid Bass receives endorsement from EMILY's List MORE (D-Calif.).

They're going to continue to, you know, make up reasons not to have conversations with us. It's not a new argument.

For Meadows, the dance around whether to appear for a deposition has been going since he was first subpoenaed in September, engaging with the committee past his initial October deposition date until lawmakers lost patience and demanded November testimony, for which the former chief of staff failed to appear.

Meadows now risks the same consequences as Bannon if the select committee chooses to hold him in contempt and the House refers him to the Justice Department for prosecution for criminal contempt of Congress.

Rep. Jamie RaskinJamin (Jamie) Ben RaskinOversight panel eyes excessive bail, jail overcrowding in New York City Jan. 6 panel may see leverage from Bannon prosecution Maryland Democrats target lone Republican in redistricting scheme MORE (D-Md.), who sits on the committee, said the NARA case and the question of witness compliance have nothing to do with each other.

That's just obfuscation. That's just confusion, he told reporters last week.

The committee scored a swift initial victory in the NARA case earlier this monthwhen a federal judge rejected Trumps lawsuit to keep the records under wraps.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Trump a brief reprieve by temporarily blocking NARA from turning over the records while it hears the legal challenge, which could soon head before the Supreme Court.

But the court also set a swift pace for Trumps appeal, with oral arguments to be heard on Nov. 30, making it unclear just how long the former president will be able to run out the clock.

Democrats say that Trump and his allies are pushing a maximalist interpretation of executive privilege that is at odds with the law and how it has been employed by previous administrations. Raskin said that the Trump camps arguments about the privilege would expand it beyond any credulity.

To say that it would apply would mean that there's an executive privilege covering insurrectionary activity in the country. Do we really want to say that there's an executive privilege for people to try to overthrow the U.S. government? ... I mean, it's just ridiculous. It makes the Constitution sound like some kind of death warrant for the democracy, and we know it's not that.

Anybody who was subpoenaed by a court or by the U.S. Congress to appear at a time and date certain with particular materials has a legal obligation to do that, Raskin said. You can't blow off a subpoena and you can't stay home and sit on your couch and talk to people about the Fifth Amendment or executive privilege, but not show up. You have a legal duty to show up.

Whether former aides are obligated to comply with the subpoenas may only be partially settled by Bannons prosecution.

Bannon was not a White House employee on Jan. 6, leaving lawmakers confident he has little chance of prevailing in court, even as his legal team argues that executive privilege remains a valid excuse for defying the committee because presidents must feel free to consult their former aides.

And its still an open question whether Bannon will stand trial soon enough for the committee to point to his case as a way to deter witnesses from defying its subpoenas.

Less clear is whether the committee has an open and shut case with Meadows, who was still serving in the White House on the day of the attack.

Lawmakers largely dodged that question when asked by reporters if the committee will have a more difficult time seeking to enforce the subpoena against Meadows.

Mr. Meadows has clear information that the committee needs and the committee will get access to that information and nobody can hide behind claims of executive privilege when you're talking about an assault on the Capitol that was a clear effort to stop the democratic process of counting electoral votes, select committee Vice Chairwoman Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyTwo Fox News contributors quit over Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 documentary Trump throws support behind Gosar after censure vote McCarthy pledges to restore Greene, Gosar to committees if GOP wins House MORE (R-Wyo.) told reporters last week.

How the D.C. circuit, and potentially the Supreme Court, decides Trumps legal challenge against the committees document request could help shape the course and effectiveness of the investigation. In an appeals brief filed on Monday, lawyers for the select committee argued that the records are vitally important and of the utmost urgency.

Delay itself would inflict a serious constitutional injury on the Select Committee by interfering with its legislative duty, the filing reads. "The Select Committee needs the documents now because they will shape the direction of the investigation.

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Trump allies leaning on his executive privilege claims | TheHill - The Hill