A federal judge was skeptical of the Justice Department’s argument Thursday that White House counsel Don McGahn enjoys absolute immunity from congressional testimony.
Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson repeatedly questioned why McGahn should be immune from testifying before the House Judiciary Committee.
Earlier this year, House Democrats subpoenaed McGahn to testify about allegations against President Trump, claiming he obstructed former special counsel Robert Mueller from conducting an investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
{mosads}The Justice Department on Thursday argued House Democrats had no right to force McGahn to testify and suggested the courts did not have the power to determine which officials were immune from testimony.
The judge, an Obama appointee, fired back, saying she didn’t believe the president has the authority to determine immunity.
“That doesn’t seem to me to be in the purview of the executive,” Jackson said.
Lawyers for congressional Democrats argued Thursday that McGahn’s role in the investigation headed by Mueller into obstruction of justice was “relevant and important to the impeachment inquiry,” though the inquiry primarily focuses on Trump’s efforts to persuade Ukraine’s president to investigate the Democratic National Committee and former Vice President Joe Biden, a front-runner in the 2020 Democratic primary.
Democrats also indicated that they wish to question McGahn over Trump’s firing of both former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey.
Jackson said she would deliver a ruling “as quickly as possible,” though further details on the timeframe were unclear.
John Kruzel contributed.
Updated on Friday at 12:26 p.m.