None dare obey a subpoena!
Certain Republicans have threatened the phone companies, that if Congress subpoena the phone records of Congressman, they will punish these phone companies which comply, if they return to power next year. Of course, Democrats could respond with, “Well, we are in power now and we will punish you if you don’t turn over the phone records. Heck, we can force you to turn over the records without issuing a subpoena (which might be overturned by a court). Of course, the Democrats have too much respect for the rule of law to issue such a threat. But certain Republicans are under no such scruples.
The phone companies should not be controlled by whichever political party happens to be in control at the moment. Nor by any political party that is not in control but might get in control in the future. Instead, the phone companies should be governed by the rule of law.
If the phone records are subpoena by Congress, they should not immediately turn them over. But, after a reasonable amount of time, if the courts do not rule this subpoena to be invalid, they should comply. They should not withhold the records if Congress and the courts decide they should turn them over. They should not turn them over if the courts rules they must not. And threats by politicians should not trump the subpoenas of Congress. Only the courts can overrule that.
