CONYERS: House Judiciary Committee To Consider New Comey Firing Resolution

The House Judiciary Committee is now considering a new version of Representatives David Cicilline (RI-01) and Pramila Jayapal’s (WA-07) resolution of inquiry requesting the Trump Administration to release any and all information pertaining to the firing of FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Sessions’ involvement. Full text of the new resolution is available here.

When the original resolution was considered in July, Judiciary Republicans hijacked the markup by adopting an amendment offered by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), that stripped the content of the bill and substituted a request for information on a wide range of right-wing conspiracy theories about Hillary Clinton, sourced from a Reddit conspiracy forum.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats have long been calling for House Judiciary Republicans to provide proper oversight over Trump and his Administration. Democrats have written to Chairman Goodlatte six times to request hearings and have also sent several letters to Speaker Paul Ryan, the Department of Justice and the White House requesting related information. 

These letters have gone unanswered and House Judiciary Republicans have so far blocked Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-NY) resolution of inquiry, Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Ted Lieu’s (D-CA) resolution of inquiry, and the original Jayapal/Cicillineresolution, from reaching the House floor.  Instead, Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee continue to do Trump’s bidding. Committee Republican Rep. Ron Desantis even introduced an amendment to end Robert Mueller’s investigation.

BACKGROUND:  A resolution of inquiry is a legislative tool that has privileged parliamentary status, meaning it can be brought to the floor if the relevant committee hasn’t reported it within 14 legislative days, even if the Majority leadership has not scheduled it for a vote.

House Resolution 488, On Firing of FBI Director James Comey, 115th Congress by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS, CUMMINGS, GOMEZ & LOFGREN Seek Immediate Hearings On President's Decision To End DACA

Washington, D.C. (Sept. 7, 2017)—Democratic leaders on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on the Judiciary sent a letter, below, to their respective Chairmen, Reps. Trey Gowdy and Bob Goodlatte, requesting immediate congressional hearings on the impact of President Trump’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

“This action is cruel and heartless, and it is now up to Congress to reverse it,” the Members wrote.  “We believe it is critical for the American people to hear public testimony regarding the President’s decision, including the resulting economic costs and social harm to the nation.”  

Last Congress, the Oversight Committee held 11 hearings on issues related to immigration, and the Judiciary Committee regularly holds hearings on immigration issues.  Yet no full Committee hearings on the President’s termination of DACA have been scheduled to date.

The letter was signed by Oversight Committee Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings, Oversight Committee Member Jimmy Gomez, Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr., and Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren.

Conyers, Cummings, Lofgren & Gomez Letter Requesting Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary Hearings... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

CONYERS: Ahead of Hearing, CBC Sends Letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Strongly Opposing Dreiband Nomination

WASHINGTON – On September 6, 2017, the Chairman of the 49-member Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Congressman Cedric L. Richmond (D-La.), and the co-chairs of the CBC Task Force on Civil and Voting Rights, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-Ala.), made public a letter, below, sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee strongly opposing the nomination of Eric Dreiband to lead the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice.

In addition to lacking experience in several key civil rights areas important to communities of color (e.g. hate crimes, voting rights and police accountability), Dreiband has spent his career fighting against protections from various forms of employment discrimination. In 2007, he testified against bipartisan legislation to prevent long-term pay discrimination against women. In 2010, he testified before Congress against legislation to strengthen protections for millions of older Americans facing age discrimination in the workplace.

The letter and its excerpts, are below.

“Mr. Dreiband’s appointment follows President Trump’s agenda of tapping the fox to guard the henhouse.”

“At best, he has no known experience in the Division’s core issue areas, such as voting rights and hate crimes. At worst, he has devoted the vast majority of his career defending corporations accused of employment discrimination. Mr. Dreiband not only sought to limit the civil rights and remedies of Americans in the courtroom, but has also fought efforts in Congress to strengthen civil rights protections.”

Congressional Black Caucus Letter To Senate Judiciary Opposing Dreiband Appointment To Civil Rights Divisio... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS On Trump Ending DACA: congress Must Right This Wrong

Washington, D.C. – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), today released the following statement after the Trump Administration announced it is terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

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

“With Attorney General Sessions’ statement today, the Trump Administration has confirmed it is the most anti-immigrant Administration in generations. The anti-immigrant rhetoric of this Administration is not what our Nation is about and they are wrong as a matter of law and policy.

“The nearly 800,000 DACA recipients, who came to the United States as children, are as American as any of us.  They have become our teachers, doctors, neighbors, and family members.  Yet, Trump has set the stage for the mass deportation of as many as 1,400 young people a day.  

“The six-month delay in initiating this process does no justice for these DREAMers and the families who will be torn apart. The Trump Administration’s pretext for this action—DACA’s supposed unconstitutionality—doesn’t carry water.  As a recent letter from over 100 law professors attests, below, “there is no question that DACA…is a lawful exercise of prosecutorial discretion.”  Furthermore, Mr. Trump’s invocation of the rule of law strains credulity given his unprecedented pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio, convicted of criminal contempt of court after he defied a judicial order to cease his longstanding practice of racially profiling Latinos.

“It is clear that the President eliminated DACA to advance his xenophobic agenda.  This repeal aligns with the interests not of the 78% of Americans opposed to deporting these young people, but of un-American anti-DACA white supremacist leaders like Richard Spencer.  Spencer has called himself a former “mentor” to close Trump advisor, Stephen Miller, who urged the President to end the program.

“It is particularly troubling that Mr. Trump would take this action while America continues to reel from the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, during which DACA recipient Alonso Guillen died while trying to rescue people from floodwaters in Texas, as well as the murder of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, Virginia. Now should be a time for unity, not divisive measures like DACA rescission.

“President Trump has failed the conscience of the country and Congress must take decisive action to right this wrong.  I, along with my Democratic colleagues, support strong legislation that would provide DACA recipients with the legal status and path to citizenship that they deserve.  We will continue to combat cynical efforts to use these human beings as bargaining chips.

“Republican lawmakers face a simple choice—whether to stand with or against nearly 800,000 young people who are as American as they are.

“The nation is watching.”

Law Professors Letter To President Trump On Ending DACA 9-5-2017 by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS & BLUMENTHAL File Amicus Brief Supporting Citizens For Responsibility And Ethics In Washington

Conyers and Blumenthal are the lead plaintiffs in Congressional action to hold President Trump accountable for violations of the Constitution’s anti-corruption Foreign Emoluments Clause

[WASHINGTON, DC] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) filed an amicus brief today in support of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington’s (CREW) effort to hold President Trump accountable for his ongoing violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Blumenthal and Conyers are the lead plaintiffs in a separate effort to compel the President to comply with the Constitution’ critically important anti-corruption measure.

Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that Trump International Hotel has already turned a $1.97 million profit in 2017. Those profits include payments from foreign governments which have housed their officials in rooms or hosted events at the hotel.

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

“The Constitution’s Foreign Emoluments Clause is clear. Federal officials, including the President, cannot accept benefits of any kind from foreign states unless Congress consents.  President Trump, however, continues to violate this key anti-corruption provision, which was meant to ensure that the Nation’s leaders put the national interest above their personal interests,” said Conyers.

“The payments from foreign governments that President Trump’s hotel is raking in are just one example of how President Trump is thumbing his nose at the Constitution and the American people. The immense magnitude of President Trump's vast business empire is no excuse for his disregard for the Constitution and disrespect for the American people. No one – not even the President – is above the law,” said Blumenthal.

The full text of the lawmakers’ amicus brief is below.

Blumenthal and Conyers are the lead plaintiffs in Blumenthal, Conyers, et al. v. Trump, the lawsuit brought by nearly 200 members of Congress against President Trump for his violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause.

The Foreign Emoluments Clause requires that all elected officials, including the president, seek the “Consent of the Congress” before receiving any gifts, payments, or benefits from foreign governments. The Constitution’s Framers included such a requirement to protect against foreign influence on U.S. officials, and to ensure that those officials act in the national interest, instead of their own.

Because President Trump has refused to disclose his business dealings abroad, the full scope of his potential Constitutional violations is unknown. Independent reporting has shown that President Trump has received the following foreign emoluments during his presidency among others:

·         Payments from foreign governments housing their officials in rooms or hosting events at Trump’s Washington, D.C. hotel after Inauguration Day;

·         Entities owned by foreign states paying rent at Trump Tower in New York City; and

·         The Chinese government granting forty trademarks to the Trump Organization.

While President Trump continues to accept benefits from foreign governments, Congress has no choice but to seek a remedy through the courts.

A Congressional Research Service analysis of suits by members of Congress found no larger action.

Conyers & Blumenthal Amicus Brief Supporting Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics Washington by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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CONYERS & House Judiciary Dems Urge Goodlatte To Take Up Trump's Pardon Of Sheriff Joe Arpaio

Committee Dems Send 5^th Request to Chairman for Oversight of Trump Administration

Washington, D.C. – Today, all House Judiciary Committee Democrats, led by Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), wrote to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (D-VA) to ask that he investigate Trump’s pardon of controversial sheriff Joe Arpaio and related events.

The letter is below.

In July, Joe Arpaio was convicted of criminal contempt after years of racially profiling and arresting individuals based on their perceived immigration status. In today’s letter to Goodlatte, the members wrote, “Sheriff Arpaio was convicted for criminal contempt of court because he ignored orders from a federal judge to stop engaging in racial profiling.  The pardon not only disregards the rule of law, it directly flouts the courts themselves by signaling that it is acceptable for parties to ignore court orders.”

The letter notes that for “125 years, presidents have worked through the Pardon Attorney to ensure that the power of clemency is fairly applied.  President Trump chose to work around this mechanism and ignore DOJ policy calling for a waiting period of five years or more before considering a pardon application and the expression of regret or remorse by the applicant.” It further details that “before resorting to a full pardon, President Trump asked Attorney General Jeff Sessions to simply drop the criminal case against Sheriff Arpaio,” pointing out that the House Judiciary Committee  “has long defended the view that presidents should avoid involvement in specific criminal cases in order to avoid even the perception of politicizing the administration of justice.”

The Members continued, “It is also our Committee’s unique and pressing responsibility to conduct oversight of the President’s use of executive power—particularly when that power is expressed as a pardon that only serves to endorse the transgressions committed by the offender.  If we do not examine this use of the pardon power, we fear that the Committee will be seen by our constituents—and by future generations—as also having endorsed the Sheriff’s conduct.” 

Today’s letter was signed by every Democratic member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, which includes: 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). 

Conyers & Judiciary Democrats Letter To Bob Goodlatte to Address Pardon of Joe Arpaio by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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House, Senate Democratic Leaders Push Trump Administration for Answers on Affirmative Action

Amid national conversation on race and white supremacy, new efforts from the Trump Administration to reexamine the values of racial diversity on campus are deeply troubling Democrats: “This is the latest effort by [Trump]Administration to step away from enforcing the protections provided under the Civil Rights Act and instead promote policies that undermine civil rights protections”

Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman John Conyers  (D-MI), ranking member of the House Committee on Judiciary, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, sent a letter, below, to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about a recent memo that showed intent of the Departments of Justice (DOJ)  and Education (ED) to reexamine the process by which the federal government ensures racial diversity on college campuses. “Recently, an internal hiring posting from DOJ citing ‘investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions’ caused public concerns as to whether DOJ and ED are launching a new effort to reexamine the values of racial diversity on campus,” the Members wrote. “This is the latest effort by this Administration to step away from enforcing the protections provided under the Civil Rights Act and instead promote policies that undermine civil rights protections and your Departments’ Civil Rights Offices. The Supreme Court has made it clear that racial diversity is a compelling state interest and that it is in our national interest that talented students from a variety of backgrounds get a close look and a fair chance at overcoming obstacles to higher education.”  The Members also highlighted that this memo follows a disturbing pattern of the Trump Administration’s hostile view of the federal government’s role in protecting civil rights. “This action is especially suspect given this Administration’s lack of attention to civil rights issues in our education system thus far,” the letter continues. “For example, neither DOJ nor ED have publically addressed the spate of racially charged incidents on college campuses nor the rise in white supremacist recruiting efforts and incidents on college campuses which the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) describes as unprecedented.   Such incidents include the stabbing of an African American student commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army by a fan of white supremacist websites, or bananas hanging from nooses labeled ‘Harambe bait.’”

House, Senate Democratic Leaders Letter To Trump Administration for Answers on Affirmative Action 8-21-2017... by Beverly Tran on Scribd

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