Democrats push new strategy for enforcing Russia subpoenas
Source: Associated Press
Democrats push new strategy for enforcing Russia subpoenas
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and LISA MASCARO
an hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) Democrats are pushing a resolution through the House Tuesday that would make it easier to sue President Donald Trumps administration and potential witnesses, paving the way for legal action against those who defy subpoenas in Congress Russia probe and other investigations.
The House resolution would authorize lawsuits against Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn for defying subpoenas pertaining to special counsel Robert Muellers report . It also would empower committee chairmen to take legal action to enforce subpoenas without a vote of the full House, as long as they have approval from a bipartisan group of House leaders.
Tuesdays vote reflects an evolving strategy for Democrats, who have moved toward lawsuits and away from criminal contempt as they investigate the Trump administration . Criminal contempt would be referred to the Justice Department, where it would certainly be rejected. In the courts, meanwhile, Democrats have scored some early wins over Trump.
The vote, along with two hearings this week on the Mueller report, is partly designed to mollify anxious Democrats who have tried to pressure House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to begin impeachment proceedings immediately. Pelosi, D-Calif., prefers to continue the investigations and see where they lead.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/8f21ffd0d5d244cbb6789307a91f9f05
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Democrats are pushing a resolution through the House Tuesday that would make it easier to sue President Trump's administration and potential witnesses. It would pave the way for legal action against those who defy subpoenas in Congress' Russia probe.
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BumRushDaShow
(129,096 posts)The House took its strongest step yet in the standoff with President Trump over congressional oversight, voting Tuesday to seek court enforcement of subpoenas for Attorney General William P. Barr and former White House counsel Donald McGahn.
On a party-line vote of 229-to-191, the House passed a resolution that would empower the House Judiciary Committee to go to court against Barr and McGahn over non-compliance with requests for documents and testimony.
The vote keeps Democrats squarely on a meticulous investigative track favored by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other top leaders and away from the formal impeachment inquiry that some 60 rank-and-file Democrats and several 2020 presidential candidates have been seeking. Still, the House vote reflects the frustration among Democrats with Trumps unwillingness to cooperate with congressional investigators who argue they have a constitutional right to examine the executive branch.
This is a dark time. This Congress is being tested in this case, not by a foreign adversary, but by our own president, said House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), adding that Trumps blanket policy of not complying with congressional subpoenas makes Richard Nixon look like an Eagle Scout.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/stepping-up-trump-clash-house-to-vote-to-enforce-barr-and-mcgahn-subpoenas/2019/06/11/a1343cea-8c4f-11e9-b6f4-033356502dce_story.html