House Republicans prepare to kill a measure that could force Trump to reveal ties with Russia, conflicts of interest https://t.co/PccR2CMYQ0
— Anne Applebaum (@anneapplebaum) February 23, 2017
The Washington Post has a new subhed: Democracy Dies in Darkness. The GOP would dearly love to make it so:
House Republicans next week plan to derail a Democratic resolution that would have forced disclosure of President Donald Trump’s potential ties with Russia and any possible business conflicts of interest, according to multiple House sources.
Seeking to avoid a full House vote on the so-called “resolution of inquiry” — a roll call that would be particularly embarrassing and divisive for the right — Republicans will send proposal by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) to the House Judiciary Committee for a panel vote on Tuesday, two Democratic sources said. The GOP-controlled committee is expected to kill the resolution…
The markup has yet to be noticed by the panel. But the Tuesday vote will come just a few hours before Trump will give his first address to Congress. Indeed, Democrats are fuming that Republicans are trying to bury the panel vote by scheduling it on a busy news day.
Resolutions of inquiry are rare in Congress and privileged, meaning lawmakers can circumvent leadership and force action on the floor if they’re ignored for 14 legislative days.
The resolutions can force presidents and agencies to give Congress private records. Nadler’s, for example, demands that Attorney General Jeff Sessions hand over to the Hill “any document, record, memo, correspondence or other communication” pertaining to “criminal or counterintelligence investigations” related to Trump, White House staff or his business…
The mark-up will likely prove awkward for Judiciary Committee Republicans who will have to block the resolution. Judiciary member and Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) just last week, for instance, faced sharp questions from constituents who accused him of steering the Oversight panel’s agenda to protect Trump…
Well, since #JasonintheHouse already whined that town hall protests in his district were meant to “bully and intimidate” him, here’s hoping he’s ready for a whole new onslaught…
Other than McCain/Graham micro-dissent, has anybody in the party even acknowledged Trump's Russian connections as a concern at all?
— Schooley (@Rschooley) February 23, 2017
@anneapplebaum @politico We should see this for exactly what it is: one giant and unequivocal admission of guilt. Publicise it widely.
— Will Lake (@WillLakeCopy) February 23, 2017
Open Thread: GOP Attempting to Buff Away the KGB FingerprintsPost + Comments (183)