Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Federal Judge Rules That Trump Lawyer Must Testify Before Congress Because 'Presidents Are Not Kings'

Federal Judge Rules That Trump Lawyer Must Testify Before Congress Because 'Presidents Are Not Kings'
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It's been months since the House of Representatives subpoenaed former White House Counsel Don McGahn to testify.

McGahn played a key role in the Mueller Report, which laid out multiple instances of President Donald Trump asking McGahn—who represented the White House, not the President—to carry out illegal orders, which McGahn refused.


Like numerous other witnesses, the White House blocked McGahn from testifying before Congress.

Now, U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled that McGahn must testify, explaining to the White House's legal team that presidents are not, in fact, kings.

Judge Jackson wrote:

"Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings. This means that they do not have subjects, bound by loyalty or blood, whose destiny they are entitled to control."
"Rather, in this land of liberty, it is indisputable that current and former employees of the White House work for the People of the United States, and that they take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

In addition to allowing McGahn's testimony, the finding that the White House can't bar close aides from testifying opens up the possibility for several Trump subpoenaed Trump aides to testify in the ongoing impeachment inquiry against him.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham is determined to appeal the decision, falsely asserting that the ruling:

"contradicts longstanding legal precedent established by administrations of both parties."

Grisham said:

"We will appeal and are confident that the important constitutional principle advanced by the administration will be vindicated."
The Twitterverse is praising Judge Jackson's ruling.







You can read Judge Jackson's full ruling here.

The book How Trump Obstructed Justice (and Received Help from Russia): The Complete Report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller into Donald Trump's Collusion with Russia and Obstruction of Justice is available here.

More from People/donald-trump

Cruel Heckling Leaves Star Sobbing

Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks was brought to tears after a fan cruelly heckled him during a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox.

The moment occurred on Tuesday night at Chicago's Rate Field, during Ketel Marte's at-bat in the seventh inning, with the Diamondbacks leading.

Keep ReadingShow less
Zohran Mamdani
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

MAGA Is Utterly Melting Down After Muslim Democratic Socialist Wins NYC Mayoral Primary

MAGA fans and conservative pundits reacted with angry racist remarks after Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist who is also Muslim, handily defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assembly member, entered the crowded Democratic primary last fall as a relative unknown. But in recent weeks, he surged in the polls thanks to grassroots campaigning, viral social media content, and policy platforms that resonated with younger and first-time voters.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal
Monica Schipper/WireImage/Getty Images

Bella Ramsey Explains Why They 'Worried' About Pedro Pascal's 'Daddy' Label

On his first day off in ages, and probably the last day off for ages more, Pedro Pascal sat down opposite Karen Valby for a heartfelt, vulnerable, and funny interview with Vanity Fair.

Between promoting Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Avengers: Doomsday, Materialists, Eddington, and the shattering wrap of The Last of Us, Pascal has been busy.

Keep ReadingShow less
Anna Camp
Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

'Pitch Perfect' Star Anna Camp Responds To Criticism Over 18-Year Age Gap With Girlfriend

Relationships between two adults with significant age gaps are not uncommon, sometimes even more so in the crucible of Hollywood.

Actor Anna Camp of Pitch Perfect fame has come under some scrutiny after she appeared on the red carpet with her new girlfriend, Jade Whipkey. Camp is 42 and Whipkey is 24.

Keep ReadingShow less
Martin Kove; Alicia Hannah-Kim
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Monica Schipper/Getty Images

'Cobra Kai' Star Kicked Out Of Fan Event After Allegedly Biting Costar 'So Hard He Nearly Drew Blood'

Actor Martin Kove is in hot water after allegedly biting his Cobra Kai costar Alicia Hannah-Kim on the arm.

Kove plays Sensei John Creese in the Netflix series and in the 1980s The Karate Kid on which it is based. He was kicked out of a recent fan meet-and-greet following an incident in which Hannah-Kim says Kove assaulted her.

Keep ReadingShow less