WASHINGTON – On news that the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued its decision in Committee on the Judiciary v. Donald F. McGahn, II, ruling that the House Judiciary Committee has standing to enforce its subpoena in court, CAC President Elizabeth Wydra issued the following statement:

We applaud the court today for recognizing that the House Judiciary Committee has standing to enforce its subpoena. The three-judge panel’s ruling was categorically wrong, and the en banc court was correct to overrule it. 

Today’s ruling by the full D.C. Circuit is an incredibly important validation of Congress’s oversight authority, affirming that the “Constitution charges Congress with certain responsibilities, including to legislate, to conduct oversight of the federal government, and, when necessary, to impeach and remove a President or other Executive Branch official from office. Possession of relevant information is an essential precondition to the effective discharge of all of those duties.”

Now that the full D.C. Circuit has properly recognized the House’s standing to sue to enforce its subpoenas, the panel should expeditiously resolve the remaining issues in the case.  Given that this session of Congress is rapidly coming to a close, time is of the essence.

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Resources:

CAC brief in Committee on the Judiciary v. Donald F. McGahn, II: https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/committee-on-the-judiciary-v-donald-f-mcgahn-ii/ 

“Are the Courts Finally Ready to Compel Don McGahn to Testify?,” Ashwin Phatak, Slate, April 28, 2020: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/dc-circuit-court-don-mcgahn-mueller-testimony.html

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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