Don McGahn Could Be a Glaring No-Show Tomorrow

Former White House counsel Don McGahn is slated to appear before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, but that may not come to pass. The New York Times is reporting by way of a source that the president intends to tell McGahn to defy the subpoena—and arm him with a document from the DOJ that will reportedly provide a legal justification for his doing so—and not show. CNN, which is reporting much the same thing, suggests the administration could argue that immunity is at play because McGahn is a former adviser to Trump. McGahn has already defied one subpoena—this one for documents—from the same committee at the White House's instruction.

The Washington Post reports Democrats "were hoping to make a star witness" out of McGahn, whose name was the most-cited one in Mueller's report in regards to whether the president obstructed justice. The Times makes the clear the stakes: If McGahn complies with Trump's alleged plan, he will likely be held in contempt of Congress, and the House would likely press a federal court to require McGahn to show; if he doesn't, his law firm and its Washington, DC, practice could suffer a financial blow, should those loyal to Trump move their business elsewhere. (McGahn is said to have angered the president.)