A paragraph in Jennifer Rubin's column today caught my eye. (Link in said para).

[Aviation Pro]

Nevertheless, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio) sent letters to the signatories, demanding all documents relating to the statement and directing the former officials to appear for transcribed interviews. If they don’t comply, they have been warned, subpoenas will be forthcoming.

*Chuckle*Guffaw*Chortle*Laugh out loud*Belly laugh*Roar*Howl*Cackle*Snigger*Snicker*Giggle*Titter*Giggling fit*Hysterics*Cracking up*Bursting out laughing*

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

What a fucking clown show.

[brush]

1. Jordan must see the irony in that statement.

I hope. What a failure his committee has been.

[agingdem]

2. like Jordan and McCarthy demanding the DOJ hand over all

Last edited Tue Mar 14, 2023, 11:09 AM - Edit history (1)

documents relating to the January 6 investigations..the DOJ politely said FUCK NO!

[Hortensis]

3. "The conspiracy theorists have reached "temper tantrum" stage of Hunter Biden "scandal."

That's the takeaway on this by an expert who studies political conspiracies - the Republicans' incompetent "weaponized government" subpoenas are them reduced to throwing temper tantrums.

Interesting, if not as amusing:

And that brings us to the current faceoff between the Republican chairmen of the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, on one side, and 50 or so former intelligence officials, on the other.

THEIR takeaway? That Hunter's laptop

“has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation.”

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Most who signed the letter are now private citizens. If Gym

tries to drag them in front of the committee, this will go to the courts.

[crickets]

5. Yep. I almost hope Jordan is silly enough to try it. The smackdown would be worth it.

No paywall: https://archive.ph/xRhem

Several of the signatories are represented by Mark Zaid, who provided me with a copy of a letter challenging the fishing expedition. In a response to the chairmen, Zaid notes that the power of Congress to exercise oversight is not “unbounded.” Citing the 2020 Trump v. Mazars Supreme Court case, Zaid explains that Congress needs a legitimate legislative purpose to demand compliance with a subpoena. And here, “no conceivable legislative purpose” exists, he says, only a “purely political, partisan exercise” that wastes taxpayer money. [snip]

However, should the committees issue formal subpoenas to others or demand the former officials reveal classified information about their past service (which is the basis for their opinions set out in the statement), the issue likely would head to the courts in the first substantial legal challenge to the House GOP’s conspiracy-driven inquests.

The last thing these right-wing congressmen likely would want is a court ruling that their three-ring circus lacks any legitimate legislative purpose and, therefore, cannot compel testimony or document production. A legal defeat for MAGA-inspired investigations (which to date have spectacularly flopped) would be the perfect denouement to Republicans’ inept efforts to harness congressional power for political gain.