DragonI

Why is Matthew Whitaker panic-stricken about testifying before Congress?

www.washingtonpost.com|https://www.facebook.com/JenniferRubinBlogger

The Post reports:

Acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker said he will not appear before Congress on Friday without assurances that he won’t be subpoenaed — giving Democrats a deadline of 6 p.m. Thursday to respond.

Whitaker’s move came shortly after the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines to give its chairman the authority to subpoena Whitaker’s testimony, should he not appear or answer lawmakers’ questions.

Whitaker’s stunt comes after months of delay and refusal to testify voluntarily, a bit of chutzpah that did not go unremarked upon by Democrats (“the panel had sent Whitaker many letters and requests to settle points of his testimony in advance, to which he had chosen not to respond”). No doubt, when Whitaker shows up on Friday he’ll invoke executive privilege (improperly, since that is not a privilege that holds up against Congress), necessitating the committee then to issue a subpoena and attempt to compel his testimony.

The real issue here is Whitaker’s fear of appearing and being forced to answer questions under threat of congressional contempt, which could occur if he is under subpoena…

“This is outrageous,” said constitutional scholar Larry Tribe. “Whitaker seems to think he is entitled to dictate the terms on which he is invited to testify. He is not. It is anti-constitutional for a member of the Article II branch, not to mention an unconfirmed acting officer whose initial appointment was of dubious legality, to insist that he will not appear to give testimony properly sought by the Article I branch, acting through a duly constituted committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, unless that Article I committee first sacrifice one of its statutory and constitutional prerogatives.”

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