24 Former U.S. Attorneys Say Congress Can Subpoena White HouseIn the legal standoff between Congress and the White House, a group of 24 former federal prosecutors is siding with Congress.
The attorneys joined in a friend-of-the-court brief arguing that Congress should be allowed to issue subpoenas to White House aides to investigate political influence at the Department of Justice.
The list of former U.S. attorneys who filed the documents in U.S. District Court includes David C. Iglesias, who says he was fired as New Mexico’s top prosecutor for political reasons. The prosecutors said that, without congressional oversight, presidents would be free to meddle in prosecutorial decisions.
“If permitted to enforce its subpoenas for documents and testimony, Congress has a unique ability to address improper partisan influence in the prosecutorial process,” the former prosecutors wrote. “No other institution will fill the vacuum if Congress is unable to investigate and respond to this evil.”
