Judging Freedom - Capitol attack panel subpoenas 5 Republicans

Episode Date: May 13, 2022

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Hi, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here for Judging Freedom. Today is Friday, May 13th. Friday the 13th. Don't be afraid. I'm not. 2022. It's about 2.05 in the afternoon on the east coast of the United States. And late yesterday afternoon, the January 6th panel of the House of Representatives investigating what happened on January 6th had had enough with its asking and begging five Republican members of Congress who have acknowledged having conversations with either White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, himself a former Republican member of the House, or President Donald Trump himself on January 6th, and those House members have declined to respond. So yesterday, the House committee issued subpoenas compelling their testimony.

One of them is Kevin McCarthy, who's the Republican leader in the House. And if the Republicans win the House this November, by next January, will be the Speaker of the House of Representatives. So five members of the House, including Congressman McCarthy, have been subpoenaed. They really have no choice but to comply with this subpoena. I heard one of the members, one of these five, Andy Biggs, for whom I have respect, on Fox News with my former colleague, John Roberts, saying he hadn't seen the subpoena yet, so he doesn't know if he's going to comply with it, but they really have no choice. Now, a little bit about the Constitution. Can they invoke the Fifth Amendment? I'm smiling because, yes, you can always invoke the Fifth Amendment, but a member of Congress

invoking the Fifth Amendment about conversations he had with the president or his chief of staff just is not going to go over well with the voters. I would think that that would be humiliating and would require politically, not legally, politically, some substantial explanation. One of the things that Congressman Biggs told John Roberts was his view that the January 6th committee is not legitimate. Now, I don't know why he believes it's not legitimate, perhaps because there are only two Republicans and there are seven or eight Democrats, but the constitutional legitimacy of the committee has already been challenged and the challenge failed. A federal judge appointed by President Trump, no less, found that the committee was lawfully constituted as a lawful committee of

the House of Representatives and has lawful subpoena powers. So these Republican congressmen are stuck. They have no choice but to comply with a subpoena. Again, constitutionally, there's a clause in the Constitution known as the Speech and Debate Clause. Speech and Debate Clause, it's called. In the Constitution, it's speech or debate. We're talking about the same clause. And it basically says members of Congress shall not be compelled to answer for their speech or debate in any other forum. Other meaning they can be called to account

for their words as members of the House of Representatives by the House of Representatives, not by a court and not by the Senate. So that clause does not help them. The Fifth Amendment will help them legally, but it'll devastate them politically. My advice, show up and tell a truthful answer or show up and invoke the Fifth Amendment. But avoiding or evading a lawful subpoena, and you may end up like Steve Bannon, indicted for contempt of Congress. Judge Napolitano for judging freedom.