Lawyer: Dems Trying to Deprive Trump of Executive Privilege, But Used It to Cover Up Their Own Flaws
© REUTERS / JIM BOURG
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The Democratic-led House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack will open an inquiry into Donald Trump's phone calls made hours before the beginning of the Capitol protests if they obtain the former president's White House records, according to its chairman. US lawyer Marc Little explains why the inquiry is unlikely to bear any fruit.
Congressman Bennie Thompson, the House 6 January committee's chairman, told The Guardian on Monday that Donald Trump's phone calls allegedly sought to stop Joe Biden's certification, citing a November report by the newspaper.
The Guardian claimed on 30 November, citing anonymous sources, that then-President Trump several times called from the White House to top liuetenants at the Willard Hotel in Washington seeking to delay certification of the Electoral College votes.
Trump's lawyers oppose turning White House records over to the House panel citing executive privilege, a legal doctrine allowing the executive branch to maintain confidential communications from the legislative and judicial branches. Former President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court on 23 December to withhold the records from the panel.
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25 December 2021, 10:23 GMT
Trump's Alleged Calls Unlikely Improper
"In the first instance, the Jan. 6th Commission's [sic] attempt to get their hands on the former president's phone call records suggests that if in fact election fraud occurred, the sitting commander-in-chief should sit back and let it happen. The inquiry in and of itself is foolish on that basis alone", believes Marc Little, a California-based attorney.
Little highlights that every president takes an oath to protect the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic:
"Whether election fraud is determined to be a legitimate conclusion, or not, the president, the executive branch, has a duty to investigate the same", the lawyer says.
He insists that whatever conversations the former president had in this regard, even if they included discussing executive powers to prevent election fraud, "it was proper".
Former President Trump believes that the 2020 presidential elections were stolen from him. The Arizona 2020 election audit conducted by independent third-party auditors earlier this year exposed several abnormalities in the election process in Maricopa County. Joe Biden won the 2020 vote largely due to narrow victories in key battleground states, including Arizona.
How Dems' Purportedly Used Executive Privilege for Fast & Furious Op Cover-Up
Marc Little argues that the executive privilege, cited by former President Trump, plays a significant role in the nation's democratic power structure.
"Executive power, demonstrated through invoking executive privilege, is a longstanding mechanism used by every former president to maintain the separation of powers between the three branches of government", the lawyer emphasises.
Little remarks, however, that invoking executive privilege to shield wrongdoing is an abuse of power. One such abuse of power was apparently committed by the Obama administration's Attorney General Eric Holder in 2012.
"Attorney General Eric Holder refused to provide over 1,300 pages of documents subpoenaed by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform related to the Fast and Furious scandal that allowed thousands of firearms to cross over the Mexican border leading to the deaths of one US border agent and at least 200 Mexican citizens", Little recalls.
U.S Attorney General Eric Holder, left, is welcomed by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve before the start of an international meeting aimed at fighting terrorism, in Paris, France, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015. A rally of defiance and sorrow, protected by an unparalleled level of security, on Sunday will honor the 17 victims of three days of bloodshed in Paris that left France on alert for more violence.
© AP Photo / Peter Dejong
Operation Fast and Furious was one of the "gunwalking" sting operations which purposely allowed licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal straw buyers in order to track the guns transfer to key figures in Mexican cartels. Nearly 2,000 firearms were illegally purchased for $1.5 million, according to a DOJ Inspector General 2012 report. However, the tactics proved largely futile and led to casualties on both sides of the border.
In the wake of the IG's report the US Justice Department named 14 people involved in the botched op for possible disciplinary action, while AG Eric Holder was believed to be unaware of the controversial tactics. Yet, Holder was held in contempt of the US Congress in June 2012 for not turning over crucial documents related to the Fast and Furious operation. The House later initiated a lawsuit to try to force disclosure of the docs, while the Obama administration invoked executive privilege to deny Congress access to the records.
"This is a recent example of what executive powers should not be allowed to accomplish", Little highlights.
Law Professor: January 6 Committee Violates Constitutional Rights of Trump Allies, House's Own Rules
22 December 2021, 17:34 GMT
6th Jan. Committee's Probe is 'Political Hit Job'
The 6 January committee's inquiry "is an extension of rabid elites who simply need an insurance policy against former President [Trump] taking office again", according to Marc Little, who believes that "it is purely a political hit job".
"The FBI, led by an administration not friendly to the former president, already determined there was no coordination of the events that occurred on January 6th at the US Capitol with the former president", the California-based attorney says. "An agency known for its counter-intelligence ability, found that the commission's work must therefore be not a criminal matter (which they have no power to pursue), but rather political only. If the former president had participated in the so-called insurrection, the powers of the federal government would have long acted against him".
18 October 2021, 15:13 GMT
The lawyer argues that the 6 January panel's work is "a sham" as they "attempt to exercise powers outside of their purview and it should be treated as such by those who are being forced to respond to the subpoenas and the like".
The House Select Committee on the January 6th Attack was formed by the Democrats in July, after the US Senate blocked the creation of a 9/11 commission-style panel proposed by top congressional Democrats. The select committee was at odds with House Republicans after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi barred GOP picks and tapped two Republican representatives - Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois - known for their ardent anti-Trump stance. There are a whopping seven Democrats and only two Republicans on the House panel, which prompted some legal observers to suggest that the committee is abusing the House's own rules.
