{"id":41153,"date":"2019-07-17T15:40:19","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T19:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=41153"},"modified":"2019-08-27T13:41:48","modified_gmt":"2019-08-27T17:41:48","slug":"why-has-the-judiciary-committee-not-yet-declared-an-impeachment-inquiry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=41153","title":{"rendered":"Why has the Judiciary Committee not yet declared an impeachment inquiry?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, Politico put out this article in which<\/a> pro- and slo-impeachment Dems speak on the record about what’s going on and why it’s going on.<\/p>\n

It’s illuminating. A few extracts with a little bit of my bolding:<\/p>\n

House Democrats say they are also focused on meticulously building a record of the Trump administration\u2019s resistance to their investigations in order to help persuade a court to rule in their favor and break the White House blockade. Rushing into it, they say, could backfire \u2014 even as angst on the left has begun to swell.<\/em><\/p>\n

“…meticulously building a record…” Depending on the volume of evidentiary documents and case law, building a record (with a limited staff of lawyers) and writing the brief can take months.<\/a><\/p>\n

They’re not stalling; they’re working, hard and long.<\/p>\n

Democrats acknowledge that the only way to knock down the administration\u2019s blockade<\/strong> of Mueller\u2019s obstruction witnesses \u2014 from former White House counsel Don McGahn to former longtime aide Hope Hicks \u2014 is to win in federal court.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

\u201c…we\u2019ve never seen an administration that, across every cabinet official, from the top down throughout the administration, there was utter disdain for the rule of law,\u201d added Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), who supports launching an impeachment inquiry. \u201cSo in a sense, they\u2019ve laid down such a gauntlet for the Congress that we don\u2019t have any precedent for dealing with this level of lawlessness.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

…
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, this is the process that we must adhere to,\u201d [<\/em>Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)] lamented. \u201cIt is in accordance with the rule of law, which ironically the executive branch is trampling. But we can\u2019t get down in the mud and trample our Constitution and our laws along with the administration.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Some Democrats also fear that despite having a strong hand in court, they might end up in front of unfriendly judges who could restrict congressional oversight powers in far-reaching ways. The line between the White House\u2019s assertions of secrecy and Congress\u2019 demands for information are ill-defined and have rarely been tested.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Richard Neal, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed a federal lawsuit to get Trump’s taxes, a judge was randomly assigned to the case. That judge, Trevor McFadden, was nominated by Trump and put on the court by Mitch McConnell.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very serious business, so when we go to court, we absolutely have to win,\u201d said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), a member of the Judiciary Committee. \u201cSo that\u2019s why we\u2019re making sure we have bulletproof cases when we do go to court.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, during all this hugely complex effort, the House will vote this week “to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for defying subpoenas for information about efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.” And already put forth a resolution condemning Trump for his racism.<\/a><\/p>\n

Things are happening. The mills of Congress grind slowly but they grind exceeding small.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, Politico put out this article in which pro- and slo-impeachment Dems speak on the record about what’s going on and why it’s going on. It’s illuminating. A few extracts with a little bit of my bolding: House Democrats say … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4718,337,1095,1175,2902],"tags":[4536,4721,4607,4255,4720,4722,1633,4667,1752,4719,4723,3994,2907,4297],"class_list":["post-41153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-impeachment","category-legal-news","category-politics","category-the-facts-of-life","category-trump-stuff","tag-don-mcgahn","tag-hank-johnson","tag-hope-hicks","tag-house-judiciary-committee","tag-house-ways-and-means-committee","tag-jared-huffman","tag-politico","tag-richard-neal","tag-robert-mueller","tag-ted-lieu","tag-trevor-mcfadden","tag-trump-impeachment","tag-wilbur-ross","tag-william-barr"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t