Washington, November 26 (RHC)-- A U.S. federal judge has ruled President Donald Trump can’t block top White House officials from testifying in the ongoing impeachment hearings.  The judge’s reasoning: “Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that presidents are not kings.” 

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s ruling says former White House counsel Donald McGahn must comply with a congressional subpoena and testify to impeachment investigators about President Trump’s efforts to obstruct the Mueller inquiry.  The Justice Department says it will appeal the decision.  The ruling could have a sweeping impact on the impeachment hearings, where a number of top officials, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton, have so far refused to testify.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors appear to be widening the probe into Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani.  The Wall Street Journal reports recently issued subpoenas for people with ties to Giuliani suggest prosecutors may be investigating possible money laundering, obstruction of justice and campaign-finance violations.

In other news regarding the White House, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower-court ruling that would have required President Trump’s accounting firm to release his financial records to the House Oversight and Reform Committee.  The Supreme Court will now decide whether it will hear the case — which could set a major precedent about the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch.