Latest in congressional oversight
The Justice Department filed an objection to the House Judiciary Committee’s recent response to the U.S.
On August 7, the House Judiciary Committee filed a civil complaint with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to enforce the committee’s subpoena for former White House counsel Don McGahn’s testimony. The complaint argues that McGahn’s refusal to testify impedes the committee’s ability to determine whether to approve articles of impeachment, pass remedial legislation and conduct oversight of the Department of Justice. The document is available here and below.
On August 6, the Justice Department filed an amicus brief in Trump v. Mazars, President Trump’s suit challenging a subpoena by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for the release of Trump’s financial information. The case is currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; oral arguments took place on July 12. The complete document is available here and below.
On July 29, the House Oversight and Reform Committee released a report on the influence wielded by private individuals with connections to President Trump over the administration’s push to transfer U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, which it pursued without a bilateral agreement under Section 123 of the Atomic Energy Act. This report builds on the committee’s report of February 19, 2019, and is based on documents the committee obtained from several outside companies.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has filed its brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Trump v.
The Department of Justice has informed the House Oversight and Reform Committee that President Trump has exerted executive privilege over certain documents subpoenaed by the committee regarding the administration's decision to include a question about U.S. citizenship in the 2020 census. The letter can be read here and below.
The legal team on behalf of President Trump and the Trump Organization has filed a brief in the case of Trump v. Mazars USA, in which Trump, in his personal capacity, is seeking to block a subpoena of his accounting firm by the House Oversight and Reform Committee. The district court ruled against Trump last month and oral arguments in the U.S.
A federal judge is expediting his decision on whether the House oversight committee has the authority to obtain Trump’s financial information from his accounting firm.
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone has sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler questioning the validity of the committee's investigation into, as the committee stated, "alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his Administration." Cipollone stated that the White House "[does] not believe the investigation ...
At 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, the House Committee on the Judiciary will hear testimony from legal experts on the issue of executive privilege and congressional oversight. A video of the hearing is available below.
Witnesses include Kate Shaw of Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law; Paul Rosenzweig of R Street Institute, and a contributing editor of Lawfare; Jonathan Turley of George Washington University Law School; and Neil Kinkopf of Georgia State University College of Law.