Trump vs Congress: Is White House trying to deter investigations into president?
The White House has warned the incoming Democratic chairman of the House Oversight Committee that investigations into the Trump administration could cross legal boundaries and themselves become subject to scrutiny, news agency Reuters reported.
The warning comes after Republicans lost their majorities in both houses of Congress in last week’s midterm elections.
In a letter sent on Monday to Representative Robert Garcia, who is set to take charge of the committee in January, White House counsel Will Scharf said the administration was “monitoring the abusive and capricious threats that are now proliferating from Democrat legislators”. And issuing unlawful subpoenas with the intention of depriving citizens of their constitutional rights and privileges may warrant further investigation,” the letter said. It also referred to remarks by several lawmakers, including one Democrat who said subpoenas would be issued like “candy”. Garcia warned Trump officials to “lawyer up” as his party was on the way to stunning victories in last week’s midterm election.
He warned that threats against government officials could be considered criminal. “Threats to executive branch officials designed to deter them from public service, or process designed merely to abuse or instill fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality. Democrats are set to take control of Congress in January for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. The letter also cited an election-night post by Garcia on X that read “LAWYER UP. “The Trump Administration continues to weaponize the government with threats of unconstitutional attacks on Congress. We are a co-equal branch of government and will not be deterred by baseless threats from a weaponized DOJ or from the President’s lawyers.
Earlier reporting noted: White House confronts Democrats over planned probes, claiming possible ‘criminality’ The White House has issued a warning to Democrats over their planned probes into the Trump administration , going as far as claiming that such investigations — a standard oversight function of Congress — may amount to “blatant criminality. Earlier reporting noted: Garcia most likely would chair the powerful panel in the new Democratic-controlled Congress that is seated in January. Earlier reporting noted: It’s just the latest shot across the bow as the White House prepares to square off against newly empowered Democrats in the House and Senate next year, a showdown with major implications for congressional authority and the balance of power between the branches of government.
Responding to the letter on Wednesday, Garcia said the committee would continue its work despite what he described as threats from the administration.