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Just Say No
Author: BobR
Date: 05/22/2019 12:49:36
We are in the midst of a constitutional crisis. The Constitution gives Congress the role and ability to conduct oversight on the Executive branch. Democrats in the House are trying to do just that. However, the tRump "Administration" is employing the tactic of "just say no", and Republicans in the Senate are (for the most part) abdicating their responsibility, and acquiescing their power to the usurper in the White House.
Attorney General Barr was a no-show at a hearing in the House (which prompted one House rep to bring chicken to the meeting - not one of the House's best moments). Despite being the top government attorney tasked with upholding the law, he felt like the law didn't apply to him. The House voted to hold him in contempt. In response, the White House decided to invoke "Executive Privilege" over the entire Mueller Report, and all staff in the Executive Branch. It's an excessive grab, and not unexpected in the business world, but unheard of in our government. What this means from a practical standpoint is unknown - probably never-ending court battles.
On Tuesday, the House was once again facing an empty chair when White House aide Don McGahn refused to testify, despite being served a subpoena to be there. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) was prompted to proclaim that "our subpoenas are not optional". We should see in the next couple days how much teeth that threat carries.
Next up are former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson (another aide), both also served subpoenas (subpoenae?) to testify. Since they no longer work for the White House, it will be difficult for tRumpy to try to block them. We'll see how this plays out.
The proclamation of executive privilege may already have been shot down:
House Speaker Pelosi said recently that tRump's actions are amounting to "self-impeachment". It will take the House, though, to determine if the rampant obstruction of justice being committed by the tRump cabal is enough impetus to actually follow through and file it. It seems they are waiting for the White House to blink first, and they are not about to do that. They will keep saying "No" right up to the bitter end.
Attorney General Barr was a no-show at a hearing in the House (which prompted one House rep to bring chicken to the meeting - not one of the House's best moments). Despite being the top government attorney tasked with upholding the law, he felt like the law didn't apply to him. The House voted to hold him in contempt. In response, the White House decided to invoke "Executive Privilege" over the entire Mueller Report, and all staff in the Executive Branch. It's an excessive grab, and not unexpected in the business world, but unheard of in our government. What this means from a practical standpoint is unknown - probably never-ending court battles.
On Tuesday, the House was once again facing an empty chair when White House aide Don McGahn refused to testify, despite being served a subpoena to be there. House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) was prompted to proclaim that "our subpoenas are not optional". We should see in the next couple days how much teeth that threat carries.
Next up are former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson (another aide), both also served subpoenas (subpoenae?) to testify. Since they no longer work for the White House, it will be difficult for tRumpy to try to block them. We'll see how this plays out.
The proclamation of executive privilege may already have been shot down:
[the] ruling, issued Monday by Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, found that the House Oversight Committee had a right to review Trump’s financial records. Mehta said that according “to the Oversight Committee, it believes that the requested records will aid its consideration of strengthening ethics and disclosure laws, as well as amending the penalties for violating such laws.†Mehta also pointed out that the committee believes Trump’s financial records will allow it to ensure that the president complies with anti-bribery guidelines outlined in the Constitution.
“It is simply not fathomable that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a president for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct – past or present – even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry," Mehta noted. To that end, he ordered that Trump’s longstanding accounting firm, Mazars USA, produce documents it prepared for the Trump Organization going back to 2011.
House Speaker Pelosi said recently that tRump's actions are amounting to "self-impeachment". It will take the House, though, to determine if the rampant obstruction of justice being committed by the tRump cabal is enough impetus to actually follow through and file it. It seems they are waiting for the White House to blink first, and they are not about to do that. They will keep saying "No" right up to the bitter end.
