General Discussion

ancianita

(36,051 posts) Tue Apr 16, 2019, 12:01 PM Apr 2019

William Consovoy, Trump's Newest Lawyer, Fights Against House Subpoenas

I love the hell out of Wonkette's almost Swiftian mockery of the lizard.

Trump's newest lawyer on the block William Consovoy sent this batshit letter to the Treasury Department, mansplaining how complying with the plain language of the law is actually ILLEGAL, so giving Trump's returns to Congress is just like pissing on the flag while taking an oath to al Qaeda!

From Consovoy:

Chairman Neal begins with a red herring. He stresses the mandatory language of section 6103(f): "Upon written request from the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means ... the Secretary shall furnish such committee with any return or return information." 26 U.S.C. §6103(f)(1) (emphasis added). But highlighting the word "shall" is a talking point, not a serious legal argument. "It is a proposition too plain to be contested" that no statute -- not even one that uses mandatory language -- can be used to violate the Constitution. Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137, 177 (1803). After all, it is "the Constitution" that Chairman Neal and his colleagues took an oath to "support and defend."

Wonkette:

Lotsa luck suing your accountants for "illegally" abiding by the law fellas. Which is more or less what Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings said in a memo Friday, announcing his intention to issue Mazars a "friendly" subpoena -- i.e. requested by the recipient to give him legal cover to breach whatever professional obligation he has not to disclose.

After accusing Jordan of obstructing the business of Congress and telling him that he is BAD AT LAW, Cummings reminded him of that time Jordan personally made Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal testify about his private sector compensation in the Benghazi investigation. Then he dropped the subpoena. As did Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters and Intel Chair Adam Schiff, who issued their own friendly subpoena yesterday to Deutsche Bank for all those Trump financial documents.

You voted, and now it's subpoena-thirty all the time! BRING IT.