Oversight

The Acting Inspector General (IG) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today informed Rep. Don Beyer and other House Democrats that neither disgraced former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt nor his private attorney ever consulted the EPA Ethics Office regarding his legal defense fund. The OIG letter was written in response to a series of questions about Pruitt’s legal defense fund… Read more »

Today Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) and Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA) sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr calling on him to open a criminal investigation into reports that Jared Kushner intentionally omitted contacts on his security clearance forms. In the letter, the Members write: We are deeply disturbed by recent reports that President Trump… Read more »

Raw Story |  Two House Democratic Members of Congress have made an official “criminal referral” requesting the Dept. of Justice investigate Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner. “Making false statements or omitting material info on SF-86 security form is punishable by up to 5 years in prison,” says Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), who served as a USAF Judge Advocate… Read more »

NBC News |  The White House is refusing to hand the House Oversight Committee documents that the panel has requested in its probe into the administration's security clearance process, including for President Donald Trump's senior adviser and son-in-law, Jared Kushner. The committee chairman, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., blasted the White House on Tuesday for asserting that his… Read more »

The Hill |  House Democrats are ramping up their investigation of White House security clearances following reports that President Trump ordered a top-secret clearance for his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner despite concerns from intelligence officials.   House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)… Read more »

Washington Post |  Congress promises to investigate. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said after the story broke last night that the administration has been stonewalling on his requests for documents related to Kushner’s clearance. “The Committee expects full compliance with its requests as soon as possible, or it may become necessary to… Read more »

Rep. Beyer this evening voted for H.J. Res. 46, a Joint Resolution sponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) to overturn President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency. The measure passed with significant bipartisan support in the House and will face a Senate vote within a few days. “My oath of office to support and defend the Constitution required that I must reject President… Read more »

Yahoo Skullduggery Podcast |  House Democrats have asked for a confidential copy of President Trump’s tax returns from the IRS, but obtaining then won’t be simple, Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said during an interview on Yahoo News’ “Skullduggery” podcast. While Beyer said Democrats will need a “good legal rationale” to request Trump’s financial documents, he believes that the… Read more »

Cleveland Plain Dealer |  President Donald Trump’s rant against “Saturday Night Live” has his TV counterpart wondering if his life is in danger. The war of words began Sunday morning, after the president apparently saw Alec Baldwin’s impersonation of him during the opening moments of SNL the previous night. Needless to say, he didn’t like it. “Nothing funny about tired Saturday… Read more »

Atlanta Journal Constitution |  President Donald Trump will use a combination of executive actions and one national emergency declaration to go around Congress and funnel over $6 billion in funds not directly approved by lawmakers for security efforts along the border with Mexico, planning to tap money from both the Treasury Department and the Pentagon, with a goal of building a… Read more »