A federal judge delivered an embarrassing response to a Department of Justice lawyer who was defending Trump from a lawsuit, according to a new report by Politico.
The lawsuit stems from the firing of Maurene Comey, the daughter of the former FBI Director, who’s been targeted by two Trump DOJ indictments. Maurene Comey was a DOJ prosecutor who had a key role in the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.
She was fired last year via a letter that only cited the presidential powers outlined in Article II of the Constitution, according to previous reporting by Politico.
During a pretrial hearing, DOJ lawyer Karen Lesperance defended Comey’s firing as legitimate “even if there were political motivations,” Politico reported.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman asked what the limits of the president’s Article II power would be in that case, and asked if the president can fire people in order to have an “all-white executive branch? or all-black?” according to Politico.
“Lesperance stammered in response,” Politico reported. She then told the judge, “I can’t answer on behalf of the government.”
According to Politico, Furman shot back, “You’re here representing the government.”
Comey’s lawyer, Ellen Blain, meanwhile, described Lesperance as pushing for “a novel and breathtaking theory” about the scope of presidential powers.
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