IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
As a reminder, the House Republicans’ first priority of the 115th Congress was to gut the only independent House watchdog, making it clear that they are focused on building a wall between their shady dealings and special interest favors, and the American people. In response to the latest chapter in this Republican-led #CorruptCongress, the DCCC issued the following statement:
“At town halls and protests across the country we’ve seen frustrated constituents demand that their representatives investigate President Trump’s likely conflicts of interest and bring ethical standards back to the Republican-controlled Congress,” said DCCC Spokesman Tyler Law. “But instead of listening to the American people, Trump’s House Republican lackeys are doing the opposite and helping Trump hide his scandals like a Russian Matryoshka doll.”
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GOP to bury House resolution on Trump conflicts
Politico
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/trump-conflicts-house-resolution-235288
House Republicans next week plan to derail a Democratic resolution that would have forced disclosure of President Donald Trump’s potential ties with Russia and any possible business conflicts of interest, according to multiple House sources.
Seeking to avoid a full House vote on the so-called “resolution of inquiry” — a roll call that would be particularly embarrassing and divisive for the right — Republicans will send proposal by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to the House Judiciary Committee for a panel vote on Tuesday, two Democratic sources said. The GOP-controlled committee is expected to kill the resolution.
[…] The markup has yet to be noticed by the panel. But the Tuesday vote will come just a few hours before Trump will give his first address to Congress. Indeed, Democrats are fuming that Republicans are trying to bury the panel vote by scheduling it on a busy news day.
Resolutions of inquiry are rare in Congress and privileged, meaning lawmakers can circumvent leadership and force action on the floor if they’re ignored for 14 legislative days.
The resolutions can force presidents and agencies to give Congress private records. Nadler’s, for example, demands that Attorney General Jeff Sessions hand over to the Hill “any document, record, memo, correspondence or other communication” pertaining to “criminal or counterintelligence investigations” related to Trump, White House staff or his business.
Democrats have blasted Trump for failing to make a clean break from his real estate empire, accusing him of being vulnerable to conflicts of interest. They also are suspicious of his campaign’s relationship with Russia. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that top Russian officials orchestrated interference into the 2016 presidential election on Trump’s behalf.
The mark-up will likely prove awkward for Judiciary Committee Republicans who will have to block the resolution. Judiciary member and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) just last week, for instance, faced sharp questions from constituents who accused him of steering the Oversight panel’s agenda to protect Trump.
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