Tag: U.S. House

Fines? Jail time? Democrats leave all options on the table for enforcing subpoenas

As administration stonewalls Congress, Democrats consider using historical ‘inherent contempt’ power

Administration officials could face fines or jail time for ignoring congressional subpoenas, as House Democrats say they’re seriously considering reviving a congressional power that has not been used since the 1930s.

President Donald Trump has publicly urged administration officials not to comply with congressional subpoenas, and some have started heeding the advice. House Democrats have made no formal decisions about how to respond to the Trump administration’s stonewalling of their oversight investigations, but one option on the table is the historical process of “inherent contempt.”

“There is no tool in our toolbox that we should not explore,” Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah E. Cummings said Tuesday.

View the complete May 1 article by Lindsey McPherson on The Roll Call website here.

Schiff: House panel to recommend DOJ open investigation into Erik Prince testimony

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Tuesday that his committee would make a criminal referral to the Department of Justice recommending President Trump ally Erik Prince be investigated for lying to Congress.

Schiff said at a Washington Post Live event that the evidence is “very strong” that Prince lied to his committee about his meeting in Seychelles with a Russian financier with ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I do believe that there was very strong evidence that he willingly lied to the committee,” Schiff said. “Later today, we are going to make a criminal referral to the Justice Department.”

View the complete April 30 article by Morgan Chalfant on The Hill website here.

Dems want climate change, tax hikes in infrastructure deal

The top two Democratic leaders on Monday told President Trump that any bipartisan infrastructure package needs to take into consideration climate change and include “substantial, new and real revenue” — a preview of the coming fight over tax hikes.

Trump will host Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) at the White House on Tuesday for discussions on a major infrastructure bill, one of the few policy areas that could see action amid divided government and as the 2020 race heats up.

Democrats want the measure for roads, bridges, waterways and other projects to be paid for with tax increases, and with a final price tag of at least $1 trillion over 10 years. Trump’s fiscal 2020 budget calls for $200 billion in federal spending on infrastructure, which White House officials say will leverage an additional $800 billion in investment through public-private partnerships over the next decade.

View the complete April 29 article by Scott Wong on The Hill website here.

A reader’s guide to all of Trump’s fights with Congress

President Trump’s indignation that special counsel Robert S. Mueller III was investigating him has now been wholly redirected at Congress.

House Democrats have launched a half-dozen investigations into the president that range from digging into his business practices, to trying to acquire and possibly publicize his tax records, to considering whether he broke the law by obstructing the Mueller probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. (I rank which ones are most potentially damaging to Trump.)

Trump is systematically trying to block and undercut each one of those investigations, forcing Congress to up the ante to try to get what they need.

View the complete April 24 article by Amber Phillips on The Washington Post website here.

Dems accuse White House of caving to Trump’s ‘ego’ on Russian meddling

Democrats blasted the White House Wednesday following back-to-back reports that administration officials were discouraged from raising concerns about Russian interference in the 2020 election.

Several Democratic lawmakers characterized allegations that White House staffers are rebuffing administration officials as “troubling” and questioned if aides were dodging the topic over fear of irritating President Trump.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is running for her party’s 2020 nomination, accused top White House aides of cowing to Trump’s “ego.”

View the complete April 24 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

House Democrats start following Mueller’s leads as they investigate Trump

Immediate strategy is continuing their probes, but calls for impeachment growing in caucus

House Democrats are starting to follow leads laid out in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report as their own investigations into President Donald Trump continue.

The caucus held a conference call Monday evening in which the six committee chairs who are investigating various matters involving Trump updated members on their next steps now that Mueller has concluded his investigation. Details shared with Roll Call were provided by people on the call who were not authorized to publicly disclose contents of the private caucus discussion.

Not included among the Democrats’ next moves is beginning impeachment proceedings against Trump. But some rank-and-file members on the call expressed a desire to go down that path, despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi urging caution on impeachment in a “Dear Colleague” letter she sent earlier Monday.

View the complete April 22 article by Lindsey McPherson on The Roll Call website here.

Dems digging into Trump finances post-Mueller

Democrats are pressing forward with their investigations into President Trump‘s personal finances well beyond the boundaries of the special counsel probe.

Robert Mueller‘s investigation focused on questions of collusion in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice. But Democratic Reps. Maxine Waters and Adam Schiff of California, who chair the House Financial Services and Intelligence committees, respectively, are taking a deeper look at Trump’s business empire, including potential dealings with Russian nationals, for any evidence of financial crimes.

Trump’s attorneys have sought to prevent House Democratic investigators from obtaining his financial records. And Republican lawmakers have dismissed the probe as a partisan fishing expedition to undermine the president.

View the complete April 21 article by Sylvan Lane on The Hill website here.

President looms large over McConnell-Pelosi spending ceiling talks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is trying to build a functional working relationship with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the two tackle the mammoth task of winning a deal on fiscal spending ceilings for the next year.

McConnell says the deal is his top legislative priority after the April recess, but achieving it won’t be easy.

Democrats are insisting on parity between defense and nondefense spending, arguing any hike for the Pentagon must be equal to that for domestic spending.

View the complete April 17 article by Alexander Bolton on The Hill website here.

Trump moves to resist House inquiries, setting up fight over congressional subpoena powers

President Trump’s attorneys and the White House are moving to resist a growing number of congressional requests for information, increasing the likelihood of a protracted legal fight that could test the power of congressional subpoenas.

The building battle will shape how much material House Democrats will be able to obtain about Trump’s policies and personal finances through multiple investigations launched by various congressional committees.

White House officials are already digging in their heels on a slew of requests related to Trump’s actions as president. The administration does not plan to turn over information being sought about how particular individuals received their security clearances, Trump’s meetings with foreign leaders and other topics that they plan to argue are subject to executive privilege, according to several aides familiar with internal discussions.

View the complete April 16 article by Tom Hamburger, Karoun Demirjian, Josh Dawsey and Rachel Bade on The Washington Post website here.

Devin Nunes ridiculed over his attorney’s hilarious litigious blunder: His ‘lawyers are just as stupid as he is’

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) was widely mocked on Monday after Fox News reported he was suing his hometown newspaper for $150 million over a story titled, “A yacht, cocaine, prostitutes: Winery partly owned by Nunes sued after fundraiser event.”

One particularly embarrassing error in the lawsuit was discovered by LA Times national correspondent Matt Pearce.

In a section of the lawsuit discussing a tweet by former Fresno Beereporter Mackenzie Mays, the authors made a major mistake.

View the complete April 9 article by Bob Brigham with Raw Story on the AlterNet website here.