On Tuesday, the House Judiciary Committee debated whether it would press forward in court on subpoenas to Attorney General Bill Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn. The votes today would not directly hold Barr and McGahn in contempt, but would allow the House to press the case against them in court. These are complicated by a deal reached between Barr and committee Chair Jerry Nadler in which the Judiciary Committee would step back from its contempt vote in exchange for a release of documents.
The resolution under consideration would authorize the Judiciary panel to go to court to force Barr and McGahn to comply with the subpoenas that were issued weeks ago, but which both have refused to honor. In the case of Barr, the Monday agreement with Nadler would seem to take contempt off the table for the immediate future.
Not only did Republicans call for putting on the brakes, but ranking Republican Doug Collins denied that the House had subpoena power in the first place. Collins questioned the authority of Congress to seek information about the executive—echoing the statements of Donald Trump’s private attorneys—and also declared that the Judiciary Committee can’t get through a hearing without “looking like a total joke” and doesn’t have the experience or funds to investigate. In short, Collins, a congressman, has nothing but disdain for Congress.
Unlike Barr, McGahn would seem to have no protection from a full-bore attempt to secure his testimony. And since McGahn has been using the time he has not devoted to appearing in front of Congress to take a seat on Fox News programs and complain about it, there would seem to be every incentive to drag him in by the wrist.
The vote is expected on Tuesday afternoon.
Tuesday, Jun 11, 2019 · 8:21:29 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
The House is currently voting on the motion which would would authorize committees to sue the Trump administration and others to obtain testimony and documents needed for ongoing investigations.
Time for the vote has officially ended, but the numbers are still slowly being tallied. However, it appears the motion will pass on party lines.
Tuesday, Jun 11, 2019 · 8:32:28 PM +00:00
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Mark Sumner
And in a vote perfectly along party lines, the U.S. House has approved a resolution authorizing court action against officials who refuse to comply with subpoenas from congressional committees. This will allow civil contempt actions to happen without having to bring votes before the entire House.