Today, Representative Lamar Smith continues his quest to become heir to Joseph McCarthy’s legacy of the abuse of Congressional authority in the service of paranoid delusions with a hearing on his right to revive McCarthyism.
Those inclined to watch can do so here at 10 am ET. Those who don’t want to waste their time can follow the tweets of 350’s Jamie Henn, and check out some materials prepared in advance to get a sense of what will likely transpire. DeSmogblog has a post describing two of the three experts Smith will call, both of whom have ties to fossil-fuel-funded groups.
One, Elizabeth Foley, tipped her hand in August with an op-ed in the WSJ that mostly takes a Constitutional approach. While a recent letter to Smith chastising his abuse of authority doesn’t directly debunk Foley’s points, the Constitutional scholars who signed it present a far more compelling case.
The second is Ronald Rotunda who had to settle for the Daily Caller for his op-ed on the issue. His defense is also less than ideal for ExxonMobil, as he argues that lying is Constitutionally protected free speech. Not exactly a strong defense, particularly as it has been established that fraud doesn’t get free speech protections.
What the third speaker will say remains a mystery, as Jonathan Turley doesn’t appear to have made any public comment on the case (and doesn’t seem to have any ties to fossil fuel groups). Similarly, the one expert brought in to balance out Smith’s trio, Charles Tiefer, hasn’t spoken publicly on this either. His bio notes that he authored “the only treatise on Congressional procedure” so we can assume then that he’ll make the procedural case that, even with McCarthy in his corner, Smith’s actions are an overreach.
Tiefer might also point to precedent of this issue, a case cited by NY and MA AGs and discussed in detail by InsideClimate News. The thrust of the ruling is summarized by Vermont Law School Professor Patrick Parenteau: “What the Tobin case says is, 'Your subpoena power is not a fishing license.'”
So we’ll see what happens. If there are any big surprises, we’ll be sure to let you know. Otherwise, we’re hoping to lighten things up with a post even more cartoonish than Smith’s McCarthyism.
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