Cummings Blasts Trump Admin After Official Ignores Subpoena In Census Probe

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 4: U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) during a news conference to introduce H.R.1, the "For the People Act," on the U.S. Capitol on Friday, January 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Sa... WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 4: U.S. Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) during a news conference to introduce H.R.1, the "For the People Act," on the U.S. Capitol on Friday, January 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images) MORE LESS
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House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings (D-MD) is lashing out at the Trump administration for ordering John Gore, the top Justice Department official involved in the push to add a citizenship question to the census, to ignore a subpoena from the committee.

The administration has now urged several officials to ignore subpoenas from House committees, with President Trump arguing that his aides shouldn’t have to cooperate with “partisan” committee probes.

“This is a massive, unprecedented, and growing pattern of obstruction,” Cummings said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “Yesterday, President Trump declared to the entire country that he would obstruct Congress and order all White House officials to defy lawful subpoenas from Congress. Today, the Trump Administration went even further by expanding this policy to employees at federal agencies—even when the subpoenas are bipartisan and supported by Republican Members of Congress.”

Cummings noted that neither the White House nor the Justice Department has asserted privilege that would keep Gore from complying, and he warned administration officials against following the White House’s orders to defy House subpoenas.

“Both President Trump and Attorney General Barr are now openly ordering federal employees to ignore congressional subpoenas and simply not show up—without any assertion of a valid legal privilege,” he said. “These employees and their personal attorneys should think very carefully about their own legal interests rather than being swept up in the obstruction schemes of the Trump Administration.”

Cummings said that the committee would convene for Gore’s scheduled Thursday deposition, hoping that the official decides to cooperate.

The Justice Department ordered Gore to ignore the subpoena after the House Oversight Committee rejected the department’s demand that Gore be accompanied by a DOJ lawyer for the deposition.

The administration had previously ordered former White House counsel Don McGahn and a former official involved in the security clearance process to ignore House subpoenas.

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Notable Replies

  1. OK, so what can be done to make them comply? Don’t think this can go on endlessly.

  2. Under what reasoning is the White House “ordering” a private citizen, Don McGahn, to not testify?

  3. “These employees and their personal attorneys should think very carefully about their own legal interests rather than being swept up in the obstruction schemes of the Trump Administration.”

    Because you stupid Motherfuckers , Trump won’t be there forever to protect your ass . When he goes , the charges will follow.
    Remember you’re just a little guy taking the fall for the Mob Boss .
    You work there FFS You know he’s crooked

  4. “These employees and their personal attorneys should think very carefully about their own legal interests rather than being swept up in the obstruction schemes of the Trump Administration.”

    Good that he used the word.

    Better if he had also hinted at (or spelled out) what the consequences are that he’s willing to inflict on those who do Trump’s bidding and ignore his subpoenas. Their lawyers have some idea what’s possible, but they need to think about what the Democrats are specifically prepared to do.

     

    Arguably, a president, even a former president, can claim executive privilege to prevent an aide, even a former aide, from testifying. It’s not a slam-dunk argument, not by any means, provided it gets a fair hearing from a reasonable judge.

  5. But they already waved such privilege when he talked to Mueller.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

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