Tag: Trump stonewalling

Nadler: Hope Hicks testimony is huge gift in legal battle with Trump

House Democrats are planning to file a lawsuit within days to force former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify on Capitol Hill — and they say Hope Hicks’ reluctant testimony Wednesday will help deliver them a crucial win in court.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said Hicks’ blanket refusal to tell lawmakers about her tenure in the West Wing is the real-life illustration Democrats needed to show a judge just how extreme the White House’s blockade on witness testimony has become.

“It very much played into our hands,” Nadler said in an interview in his Capitol Hill office Thursday. “It’s one thing to tell a judge blanket immunity is not a right thing. It’s another thing when a judge can see what that means in actuality, and how absurd it is.”

View the complete June 21 article by Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney on the Politico website here.

Hicks repeatedly blocked by White House from answering Judiciary questions

The Hill logoThe House Judiciary Committee has released a transcript of a closed-door interview with former Trump aide Hope Hicks, showing White House lawyers repeatedly blocking her from answering questions about her work in the administration.

Hicks interviewed privately with the panel for nearly eight hours on Wednesday as part of its sweeping investigation into President Trumpand his associates. She was compelled to testify under subpoena.

The transcript, which stretches 273 pages long, shows Trump administration lawyers repeatedly blocking Hicks from answering questions about her time in the White House by invoking the argument she is immune from compelled congressional testimony on the subject — a tactic that infuriated Democratic lawmakerson Wednesday.

View the complete June 20 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

House Dems slam Hope Hicks and her White House lawyer for refusing to answer questions: ‘Ridiculous!’

AlterNet logoDemocratic lawmakers are already calling Hope Hicks’ congressional testimony “ridiculous.”

The former White House communications director complied with a subpoena Wednesday morning to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, but refused to answer any questions about her time serving under President Donald Trump.

A White House lawyer who accompanied Hicks, who left the government in early 2018, repeatedly objected to questions from congressional investigators.

Kyle Cheney

✔@kyledcheney

Replying to @kyledcheney

“It’s pretty ridiculous,” says Rep. @KarenBassTweets, saying the White House lawyer inside the Hope Hicks interview is objecting to lots of questions.

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View the complete June 19 article by Travis Gettys from Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.

White House blocks former Trump aide from answering House panel’s questions, angering Democrats

Washington Post logoThe White House on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s former aide Hope Hicks from answering dozens of questions from a House committee, an impasse that hands pro-impeachment Democrats another argument to start proceedings, even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back.

During a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee, a White House attorney and Justice Department lawyer argued that Hicks had immunity from questions about her West Wing tenure — although Hicks is a private citizen. The standoff — and the White House assertion of an exemption that Democrats said simply does not exist — immediately raised the prospect of the House asking a court to force her to testify.

The latest clash between House Democrats and the Trump administration in their ongoing war over Congress’s right to conduct oversight comes as nearly 70 House Democrats have called for an impeachment inquiry to begin. Indeed, some members of the Judiciary panel emerged from the nearly eight-hour session with Hicks predicting that the episode would only fortify their case that it was time to start proceedings.

View the complete June 19 article by Rachel Bade, Mike DeBonis and Hailey Fuchs on The Washington Post website here.

Judge rejects Trump’s request to halt congressional subpoenas for his banking records

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Wednesday rejected a request by President Trump to block congressional subpoenas for his banking records, dealing another blow to the president in his bid to block Democratic investigations into his personal finances.

The decision by District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos could clear the way for Deutsche Bank, the president’s biggest creditor, and Capital One to hand over years of financial records from Trump, his three eldest children and the president’s company to two House committees. Trump’s attorney told Ramos they were likely to appeal the decision.

This is the second court defeat for Trump this week in his fight to keep his finances secret. On Monday, a federal judge in Washington rejected Trump’s effort to block the House Oversight Committee’s demands for records from Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA. Trump’s attorneys notified the judge on Tuesday that they have appealed “all aspects” of that ruling.

View the complete May 22 article by Renae Merle, Felicia Sonmez and Michael Kranish on The Washington Post website here.

New York legislature approves bill giving Congress access to Trump’s state tax records

New York state’s legislature on Wednesday approved a bill to allow the state to give Congress President Trump’s state tax returns, which could allow U.S. House members to review portions of the president’s financial records.

The bill now heads to New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D), who has expressed support for the effort and is expected to sign it into law.

It’s unclear whether House Democrats will request the state records, after a spokesman for the House Ways and Means Committee said the state documents may not be relevant to the committee’s investigation. The records would have to be requested by the committee for them to be turned over. Their disclosure by state officials could also be challenged in court.

View the complete May 22 article by Jeff Stein on The Washington Post website here.

Democrats talk subpoena for Mueller

House Democrats are stepping up calls for testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller — even if it takes a subpoena to obtain it.

Issuing a subpoena to compel testimony from Mueller, who has yet to reach a deal to appear before the House, carries risks for Democrats. It could be viewed as divisive, has the potential to generate negative headlines and is a step most would like to avoid.

But as the spring days slip away with no agreement to hear from the special counsel, frustrated lawmakers are saying they should use whatever means are necessary to hear from Mueller.

View the complete May 21 article by Olivia Beavers and Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Confidential draft IRS memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless president invokes executive privilege

A confidential Internal Revenue Service legal memo says tax returns must be given to Congress unless the president takes the rare step of asserting executive privilege, according to a copy of the memo obtained by The Washington Post.

The memo contradicts the Trump administration’s justification for denying lawmakers’ request for President Trump’s tax returns, exposing fissures in the executive branch.

Trump has refused to turn over his tax returns but has not invoked executive privilege. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has instead denied the returns by arguing there is no legislative purpose for demanding them.

View the complete May 21 article by Jeff Stein and Josh Dawsey on The Washington Post website here.

5 things to watch as Trump, Dems clash over investigations

The White House is seeking to thwart more than 20 congressional investigations into President Trump and his administration, accusing Democrats of trying to score political points against the commander in chief ahead of a reelection year.

The executive branch has refused to cooperate with the requests for documents and witness interviews and fought resulting subpoenas from Democrats seeking to compel the administration to comply.

Democrats have accused Trump and his administration of flouting congressional investigative and oversight powers in an unprecedented way, blocking demands for everything from the president’s tax returns to files on security clearances.

View the complete May 18 article by Morgan Chalfant and Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

White House counsel to House Dems: No “do-over” on Trump investigations

White House counsel Pat Cipollone said that Congress has no right to a “do-over” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation and other investigations undertaken by the Justice Department in a letter sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday.

Why it matters: Cipollone’s letter will further escalate the war between the Trump administration and House Democrats, who are attempting to obtain the unredacted copy of Mueller’s report as well as access to the sources and witnesses that helped to form its conclusions.

The key quote from Cipollone’s letter:

“Congressional investigations are intended to obtain information to aid in evaluating potential legislation, not to harass political opponents or to pursue an unauthorized ‘do-over’ of exhaustive law enforcement investigations conducted by the Department of Justice.”

View the complete May 15 article by Orion Rummler on the Axios website here.