Now, Psaki and the Justice Department are asking the federal court in Virginia to essentially strike down Doughty, an appointee of President Donald Trump, and excuse Psaki from testifying.
PSAki, who left her post at the White House in May and is preparing to host a new show on MSNBC, said forcing her to testify in the case would be “extremely taxing” on her.
“Among other things, I understand that I would have to devote several days to preparing for the deposition, as well as attending the deposition itself, and this would greatly disrupt my work and my family,” Psaki said in A declaration filed in the federal court in Alexandria.
PSAKI has retained a high-powered attorney to represent her in the court battle, Jeannie Rhee, a veteran of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Lawyers for the Justice Department also weighed in, arguing that if her testimony continues, it will almost certainly lead to a protracted fight over executive privilege, due to her role as a senior adviser to President Joe Biden.
“If allowed to proceed, Ms. Psaki’s testimony would inevitably put the executive and judiciary ‘on a collision course’ through executive privilege judgments, placing the court in ‘the delicate position of ‘assessing the executive’s claims to confidentiality and autonomy,’ and the ‘difficult issues of separation of powers and checks and balances’ would quickly be brought to the fore,” the Ministry of Justice lawyers wrote. Justice, citing a 2004 Supreme Court case involving Vice President Dick Cheney.
“The plaintiffs have identified no evidence showing or even suggesting that Ms. Psaki ever communicated with a social media company in her capacity as a press officer about misinformation, much less that she “wielded power.” coercive “to compel a social media company to take any action,” the GM file said.
Under federal court rules, Psaki is allowed to ask the Virginia-based court to vacate or limit the subpoena because she lives in Virginia. His motion went to Judge Patricia Giles, a Biden appointee.
In recent years, such motions have often been transferred to the court handling the original prosecution, but the Justice Department said it opposed such a move this time. DOJ attorneys also noted that Psaki was no longer a defendant in the lawsuit, since she was replaced by Karine Jean-Pierre when Jean-Pierre took over in May.
“The Issuing District has not addressed arguments that Ms. Psaki may raise as a non-party … regarding excessive burden,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.
Justice Department officials agreed to make some current and former officials available for depositions, but asked a New Orleans-based federal appeals court to block Doughty’s order requiring the testimony of three officials: Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly. and White House Director of Digital Strategy Rob Flaherty.
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on the claim.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a US Senate candidate, is spearheading the prosecution, joined by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. Former President Donald Trump filed three similar lawsuits against major social media companies last year, but failed to be discovered in connection with any of them.
Rhee, Psaki and Schmitt’s office did not respond to messages seeking comment on the dispute.
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