During Monday’s Congressional Democrats’s briefing, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) discussed White House immunity ruling by the Supreme Court and President Trump's DoJ.
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:
https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript
Stay Connected
Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes
Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes
More From Forbes: http://forbes.com
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Recognizing Congressman Hank Johnson of the 4th District of Georgia and the
00:04Ranking Member of our SEP Committee on Courts, IP, and Artificial Intelligence.
00:10Thank you Mr. Ranking Member and Mr. Ranking Member for holding this hearing.
00:18You know after losing the 2020 election the lame duck President Donald Trump
00:24embarked upon an illicit and multi-pronged scheme to remain in office beyond his
00:30term. This plan culminated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection which failed but
00:38Donald Trump wasn't finished. Over the next four years he hatched a plan to
00:43create the conditions where if he won the presidency again he would never have to
00:49leave office. And during that planning process Trump was given an assist when
00:55the Supreme Court of the United States which he magnified with three
01:00appointees ran the clock out on efforts to prosecute him while giving him immunity
01:06from prosecution for official acts while in office. Once back in the White House
01:11and with immunity so that he was above the law, Trump's first order of business was
01:19to destroy the rule of law so that he could then systematically dismantle our
01:24democracy and there would be no checks on his illegal behavior. In less than 100
01:31days he has turned the Department of Justice into the Department of Injustice. He
01:38effected this transformation by installing sycophantic loyalists and purging
01:46career employees whose only offense was adherence to the rule of law. Good
01:52people like our witnesses here but even purging career employees is not enough for
01:58a tyrant. A tyrannical leader like Trump must also intimidate people to ensure their
02:05silence and that's why Trump's DOJ directed armed US Marshals to deliver a letter to
02:13Ms. Oyer at her home about testifying to Congress and it's why the administration is
02:21now claiming that she is muzzled by executive privilege which is a baseless claim and going
02:29after government lawyers is not enough for this aspiring dictator. Trump is also
02:34attacking lawyers in the private sector in an attempt to decimate our system of
02:39adversarial justice which is crucial to a functioning legal system. Any law firms that
02:46employed lawyers who previously investigated Trump, challenged his administration or worked
02:52on causes he didn't like were slapped with executive orders and these executive orders threatened
03:00to strip law firms of security clearances, terminate government contracts with the firm, or deprive them of
03:07business in any way that they can, even preventing their employees from entering government buildings.
03:14The idea is to scare lawyers enough so that no one brings cases against Trump or his administration's
03:23illegal actions and even though Trump thinks he has the Supreme Court in his pocket he cannot risk cases
03:30working their way through the legal system and finding out that even for the justices he appointed
03:37it might be a bridge too far in destroying our democracy.
03:41So far Trump has issued five executive orders targeting top powerful and wealthy law firms to send a message to the less powerful and wealthy
03:51that if you challenge his illegal actions they'll be held to play. Several of his targeted law firms have folded like cheap lawn
04:01chairs while others have stood and fought back. Trump wants to scare the legal profession into silence and
04:07we're honored today to have these brave and patriotic lawyers with us who refuse to be silenced. Mr. Crosswell you know
04:17You found yourself at a crossroads after Donald Trump returned to office and
04:27Acting Deputy Attorney General Bove ordered you and your colleagues at the Public Integrity Section to sign a
04:35motion to dismiss the indictment against New York City Mayor Adams. Is it true that Mr. Bove told you and your
04:45colleagues that whoever complied would be rewarded with a position of leadership within the department
04:53and that whoever pushed back would face professional consequences?
04:59If I could interrupt for one second the witness can answer the question we're being reminded that we
05:04have just five minutes each I think a lot of us on the House side were under the impression
05:08that people spoke for 15 minutes here but it is a it is a five minute rule we're going to comply with you.
05:13Well I've only gone for five minutes and 13 seconds but if you would answer that question I'll
05:21gladly yield back my time. Congressman my best recollection of the conversation that or that
05:29what was said to us was in my resignation letter and I think it was very very much implied if not
05:36stated that there'd be promotional opportunities for anyone that would sign the motion and and I also
05:43think it's very fair to say there was an implicit threat for those that won and and that was done
05:48through reference to what took place in the Southern District of New York. That's that's my best recollection.
05:53Thank you. Thank you. Senator Klobuchar.