Judge temporarily stays McGahn subpoena

A federal district judge on Wednesday issued a temporary stay of her order that former White House counsel Don McGahn comply with House Democrats’ subpoena for testimony.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, an Obama appointee on the district court in D.C., granted McGahn’s request for a temporary stay while she deliberates on whether to issue a lengthier one to allow him to appeal her decision.

The House Judiciary Committee, which had asked the court to enforce its subpoena for President Trump‘s former legal adviser, said it would not oppose a temporary stay.

McGahn, who is represented by the Department of Justice, has already started the appeals process and on Wednesday morning asked the D.C. Circuit Court to stay the district court’s decision while the appeal plays out.

Jackson ruled in a scorching decision on Monday that McGahn must comply with the subpoena, rejecting the Justice Department’s arguments that the White House is largely immune to congressional oversight.

“Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings,” Jackson wrote.

Updated at 12:48 p.m.