Judge rejects House Dem request to link McGahn, Mueller grand jury lawsuits

[FBaggins]

Source: Politico

A federal judge on Wednesday rejected the House Judiciary Committee’s bid to formally link two lawsuits it contends will expedite its decision to recommend articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

The two lawsuits — one seeking access to special counsel Robert Mueller’s grand jury evidence and another seeking to compel testimony from Mueller’s top witness, former White House counsel Don McGahn — should be considered together, the committee argued, because both arose from Mueller’s probe and are central to the Houses impeachment deliberations.

But in an 11-page ruling, D.C. federal District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell ruled that connections between the two suits are “too superficial,” and decided the McGahn case should be randomly assigned to a federal judge.

“[T]he House Judiciary Committee has failed to meet its burden that departure from the practice of random case assignment is warranted,” wrote Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/14/judge-rejects-mcgahn-grand-jury-lawsuits-1462917

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Not a huge deal. Nothing challenging whether their subpoena can be enforced. They just can't combine this issue with their existing lawsuit before this judge.

Link to ruling

[bluedigger]

1. All part of the new lawyer employment incentive program.

Now with double the billable hours!

[Midnightwalk]

2. Time is a problem

I think that neither side is going to accept a result until it reaches the Supreme Court and they decide or don’t take the case.

Don’t know if enough people will pay attention to this preliminary stuff to make a difference politically.

[FBaggins]

3. True enough... but this decision doesn't change the timeline much

If the committee gets access to grand jury transcripts, they essentially get access to McGahn's testimony.

[Nevermypresident]

5. However, there are asking to compel McGahn's testimony, obviously for a public hearing, not just

his Mueller transcripts.

[Nevermypresident]

4. Yes, time is a problem. Wonder how much this will set us back - 1 week/3 weeks???

I have no idea.

[riversedge]

6. Howell's opinion aligned almost entirely with the Justice Department's legal arguments lodged Tuesda

I imagine Barr is doing a victory lap.


............Joining the two cases, she said, would raise the specter that the House had manipulated the process to put its cases in front of a preferred judge.

“The potential for manipulation of the ordinary rule of random assignment,” Howell wrote, “would be particularly acute if the House Judiciary Committee could relate any matter arising from its ongoing investigation to a single judge on this court, irrespective of the particularities of each case.”

Howell also disputed the House contention that joining the cases would speed them up.

“Judicial efficiency is not served where two cases present such different factual and legal issues, as is the circumstance here,” she wrote.

Howell’s opinion aligned almost entirely with the Justice Department’s legal arguments lodged Tuesday. In a filing, the Justice Department accused House Democrats of trying to “game the system” and shop around for a friendly federal judge. The department said the twin demands are based on “completely different factual and legal issues.”

[FBaggins]

7. Yeah... I confess that I didn't see much substance to the request

I'm not really sure why they went for it - because it really does make them look like they need a friendly judge... when I'd actually consider the McGahn case to be stronger than their grand jury materials request.