On Wednesday, March 29th, the House Judiciary Committee will consider two Democratic resolutions of inquiry. H.Res. 184, introduced by Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Ted Lieu(D-CA), asks the White House and Department of Justice for information oncontacts between Trump officials and the Russians.
The committee will also consider H.Res. 203, introduced by Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), which asks the White House and Justice Department to provide information, if any, on Trump’s allegation that President Obama wiretapped him. Just last week, FBI Director James Comey publicly acknowledged that there is no evidence to support President Trump’s wiretapping claims. Considering that fact, this resolution will be amended.
House Judiciary Committee Democrats have long been calling for House Judiciary Republicans to provide proper oversight over Trump and his Administration. On March 10th, every Democratic member of the Committee called on Chairman Goodlatte to “get moving on Trump oversight.”
Despite Judiciary Republicans’ attempts to block Democratic efforts, these resolutions of inquiry should be the proper next step in the Committee’s oversight of theTrump Administration. They follow two letters to Chairman Bob Goodlatte—both signed by every Democratic member of the Committee—requesting hearings about federal conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions that may apply to the President. Democrats have also sent several letters to Speaker Paul Ryan, the Department of Justice and the White House requesting this and related information concerning Trump’s ties to Russia.
Just a few weeks ago, House Judiciary Republicans blocked Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s(D-NY) resolution of inquiry from reaching the House floor. TheNadler resolution would have provided Congress with information relevant to President Trump’s conflicts of interest, his potential violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and ties between his advisors and the Russianregime. During that markup, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) and Chairman Goodlatte(R-VA) indicated that the Nadler resolution was unnecessary because the Majority was drafting a bipartisan letter to Attorney General Sessions. To date, no such letter has been sent.
The markup is open to the public and starts at 10AM. The resolutions are expected to come up toward the middle of the markup.
DATE: Wednesday, March 29, 2017
LOCATION: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building, House Judiciary Committee Room
LIVESTREAM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQSvbrmMkd0