All House Judiciary Democrats Call For DOJ To Issue Statement Refuting Trump Wiretapping Claim

Democrats Also Call On White House & DOJ To Release Information On White House & DOJ Communications

Washington, D.C. – Today, all House Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Dana J. Boente, asking the Department of Justice to address the accuracy of assertions made by President Trump accusing President Obama of wiretapping his phones prior to the election—in the wake of widespread reports that FBI Director Comey had asked DOJ to reject such claims.  Judiciary Democrats also asked the Department to provide information about possibly improper contacts between the White House and DOJ concerning efforts by the Russian government to unlawfully influence the U.S. presidential election in favor of Mr. Trump.  A similar letter has been sent to White House Counsel Donald McGahn.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

“Today, it was reported that Director Comey was “incredulous” at the President’s claim.  We call on the White House Counsel to tell us about their contact with DOJ and we ask the Acting Deputy Attorney General to set the record straight about the facts of any inquiry,” said Ranking Member Conyers.   “Given Attorney General Sessions’s recent decision to recuse himself from the Russian influence investigation, we have directed the letter to the Acting Deputy Attorney General.  It would be highly inappropriate to say the least if the Attorney General was involved in any decision to not respond to the FBI Director’s request. President Trump’s irresponsible and baseless tweet over the weekend charging that President Obama wire-tapped Trump have led to troubling reports of efforts by the White House Counsel to contact the Department of Justice about investigations and reported requests by the FBI Director that the Justice Department refute Trump’s assertion.”  

Both letters were signed by every Democratic member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, including: Representatives John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Ted Deutch (D-FL), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Karen Bass (D-CA), Cedric Richmond (D-LA), Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), David Cicilline (D-RI), Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL). 

U.S. House Judiary Democrats Letter to Acting Deputy Attorney General Boente 3-6-17 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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HOUSE JUDICIARY GOP VOTE TO KILL TRUMP CONFLICTS & RUSSIA TIES RESOLUTION

Washington, DC – On February 28, 2017, House Judiciary Committee Republicans voted to kill Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) resolution of inquiry, H. Res. 111. The resolution would have directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to provide the House of Representatives with information relevant to President Trump’s conflicts of interest, his potential violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause, and ties between his campaign advisors and the Russian regime.  The full text of the Resolution of Inquiry can be found here.

House Judiciary Republicans Offer Excuses Instead of Oversight: During the hearing, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) attempted to justify his opposition to H. Res 111 by claiming that he plans to send a letter to request information from DOJ.  Chairman Goodlatte (R-VA) also indicated that he was working on a letter to DOJ. However, there is nothing that would prevent Members from voting for a resolution as well as sending letters.   

GOP arguments ignored the fact that the resolution already follows two letters to Chairman Bob Goodlatte—both signed by every Democratic member of the Committee—requesting hearings about federal conflict-of-interest and ethics provisions that may apply to the President.  Democrats have also sent several letters to Speaker Paul Ryan, the Department of Justice and the White House requesting this and related information concerning Trump’s ties to Russia.

House Judiciary Republicans Won’t Acknowledge Concerns over Clear Russia Ties:During the hearing, Rep. Darrell Issa mischaracterized statements by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, suggesting that he had reviewed evidence and found nothing to suggest contacts between the Russian government and the Trump campaign.  In reality, the intelligence committee has not yet received any new information, a point that Rep. Schiff made clear yesterday and confirmed to Democratic Members today.

During the markup, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) questioned the unanimous conclusion of the Intelligence Community that the Russian government attempted to influence the recent election--a conclusion that even President Trump has come to accept.

House Judiciary Republicans Reject Critical Amendments: House Judiciary Committee Republicans rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) that would have requested the Department of Justice to disclose information concerning inappropriate contacts between the White House and the FBI. The amendment failed on a party line vote of 15-18.View amendment text here.

The Majority also rejected an amendment offered by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) that would have asked the Department of Justice to provide information about the possible recusal of Attorney General Sessions, in light of his personal and political connections to the Trump campaign. The amendment failed on a party line vote of 15-16. View amendment text here.

During the markup, Republicans also moved to “take down” from the Committee transcript (or censor) Rep. Ted Lieu’s words even though he had merely sought to state that President Trump was responsible for repeated lies and misstatements.

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) released the following statement after the markup:

“Today’s vote is part of a concerted effort by Republicans, from Donald Trump and his White House staff to the Congressional Majority, to block efforts to expose the truth about alleged wrongdoing by the Trump campaign and the Trump administration.  I’m deeply disappointed in the Majority’s refusal to provide proper oversight over President Trump and his Administration. If passed, this resolution would have granted us access to information on Mr. Trump’s conflicts of interest and alleged ties to Russia. It’s long past time for the Majority to do their jobs and hold the Trump administration accountable.  I am hopeful that the American people will continue to make their voices heard in their pursuit of the truth.”

Background: A resolution of inquiry requesting information to be provided by the Administration can be brought to the floor if the relevant Committee fails to report it within 14 legislative days.

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CONYERS, HOYER, ENGEL, THOMPSON, CUMMINGS, SMITH, & SCHIFF JOINT STATEMENT CALLING FOR A COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN THE 2016 ELECTION

Ranking Member, John Conyers, Jr.

Washington, DC – Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) joined  Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-MD), House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA), and House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA) released the following joint statement in response to news reports about intelligence assessments of Russian interference in the 2016 election, and comments by the House Republican leadership downplaying the need for a thorough investigation:

“All Americans should be deeply concerned by the reports that Russian agencies have interfered with a U.S. election. As Speaker Ryan noted, ‘any foreign intervention in our elections is entirely unacceptable.’

“The first duty of the United States government is to safeguard the American people and the integrity of our free society from attacks by foreign adversaries. Cyberattacks on our political institutions are direct threats to their integrity and are just as menacing as attacks on our economic, physical, and military infrastructure.

“Given the gravity of these unprecedented attacks by a foreign state, we need a congressional investigation that is truly bipartisan, that is comprehensive, that will not be restricted by jurisdictional lines, and that will give the American people a complete and full accounting of what happened consistent with safeguarding our national security.”

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CONYERS, HOYER & RANKING MEMBERS SEND LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA URGING BRIEFINGS ON RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN U.S. ELECTION

WASHINGTON, DC – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. joined Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel, Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson, Oversight and Government Reform Committee Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith, and Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff sent a letter today to President Obama asking for Administration officials to brief all Members of Congress on Russian efforts to influence or interfere in the recent federal election.

Dean of the U.S. House
of Representatives
John Conyers, Jr.

Citing concerns that “Russia may have succeeded in weakening Americans’ trust” in our democratic institutions through its actions, the authors of the letter call attention to the hacking of American organizations, publication of private emails sent to or from campaign officials, as well as disclosures by WikiLeaks and fabricated news stories. 

“By eroding Americans’ and foreigners’ trust in U.S. institutions,” the letter states, “Russia both weakens our country and sows global instability and uncertainty.  …To evaluate Congress’s response appropriately, we would like all Members  to have a comprehensive understanding of what the U.S. Intelligence Community knows regarding Russia’s involvement in these actions and attempts to interfere in our election.”

CONYERS, HOYER & RANKING MEMBERS SEND LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA URGING BRIEFINGS ON RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE IN... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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