A federal judge on Friday accused the Justice Department of directing two employees to ignore subpoenas issued by House Republicans.
Last month, the House Judiciary Committee filed a lawsuit It asked a federal judge to compel Justice Department attorneys Mark Daly and Jack Morgan to testify in the committee’s impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Both staff attorneys work for the Justice Department’s Tax Division and were involved in the agency’s investigation into Hunter Biden’s alleged tax crimes.
The Justice Department blocked the pair from testifying because the agency believes it would be unconstitutional to force them to testify in an ongoing case.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes, a Biden appointee, indicated she might agree with the Justice Department’s arguments. report. On the one hand, she blamed the Justice Department for completely ignoring her subpoena.
“There’s a person in prison right now because he failed to appear on a House subpoena and you filed a criminal case against him,” Reyes told Justice Department attorney James Gilligan. Because of this,” he said.
Reyes was referring to Peter Navarro, a former adviser to Donald Trump.navarro He began serving a four-month prison sentence. After being found guilty last month of failing to comply with a subpoena issued by a House committee on January 6th.
“I think you’re pretty wealthy when you pursue criminal investigations and put people in jail who don’t turn themselves in,” Reyes told the Justice Department. “You all make a lot of arguments that would never be accepted by other litigants.”
Reyes also chided the Justice Department’s position as helpful to defense attorneys representing clients accused of ignoring subpoenas.
“I think there are hundreds, if not thousands, of defense attorneys…I don’t think anyone would be happy to hear the Department of Justice’s position. If they don’t agree to the subpoena, it’s unconstitutional or illegal. “You cannot unilaterally refuse a subpoena if you believe that “show up,” she said.
At one point, Reyes expressed surprise that the Justice Department refused to say whether it would allow Daley and Morgan to testify if the House agreed to bring government advisers along.
“Are you kidding me?!” she screamed.
Tongue-clicking aside, Reyes suggested Congress was unlikely to extract anything substantive from Daley or Morgan. As first-line lawyers overseeing day-to-day legal responsibilities, their testimony “will be subject to multiple layers of privilege, ranging from prosecutorial privilege to administrative privilege,” Court News Service said. explained.
Still, Reyes said lawyers still need to appear and participate in the proceedings, even if it means claiming privilege over individual questions.
Reyes said the Justice Department requires others to participate at a minimum of “seven days a week and two Sundays.”
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