Opinion| According to the Gateway Pundit, “the Democrat-controlled House on Tuesday voted 229-191 on a resolution giving the Judiciary Committee and other panels new powers to investigate President Trump and his associates.
The resolution gives Democratic House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler the power to “initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings to enforce certain subpoenas and for other purposes.”
Axios reports that other powers granted to Democrats include:
-A subpoena for Attorney General Bill Barr to turn over the full, unredacted Mueller report and its underlying materials.
-A subpoena for former White House counsel Don McGahn, who has been blocked by the White House from cooperating, to turn over documents related to Trump’s potential obstruction of justice.
-A petition asking the court to release the 6(e) grand jury material redacted in the Mueller report.
The resolution named Trump-appointed Attorney General William Barr and former White House Counsel Don McGahn, both of whom have “defied congressional subpoenas to turn over documents and appear before committees,” according to the Gateway Pundit.
The Gateway Pundit reports, “Nadler did however back down from threats to hold Bill Barr in contempt on Monday and announced he reached a deal with the Department of Justice to access ‘Mueller’s most important files.’ The vote on this resolution comes as House Democrats are sparring with Speaker Pelosi over impeaching President Trump. Pelosi has been carefully walking the line by dangling the impeachment carrot to appease her radical base, however she has been simultaneously stating she will not formally begin the impeachment proceeding.”
Via the New York Times:
The House voted on Tuesday to authorize the Judiciary Committee to go to court to enforce two subpoenas related to Robert S. Mueller III’s inquiry — threatening to open a new legal front in the Democrats’ efforts to investigate President Trump and his administration.
The resolution, which passed along party lines, 229 to 191, grants the Judiciary Committee the power to petition a federal judge to force Attorney General William P. Barr and the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II to comply with congressional subpoenas that they have either completely or partly defied.
But it also empowers other House committees to move more quickly to court in future disputes — authorities that could quickly be put to the test. The House Oversight and Reform Committee, for instance, is expected to vote Wednesday to recommend separate contempt of Congress citations against Mr. Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross over that panel’s investigation into the administration’s efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
“We’re here in a fight for the soul of our democracy, and we will use every single tool that is available to us to hold this administration accountable for its actions and make sure the government is working effectively and efficiently for all the people,” Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland and the oversight panel’s chairman, told reporters after the vote.
