Authorizing the Committee on the Judiciary to Initiate or Intervene in Judicial Proceedings to Enforce Certain Subpoenas
Floor Speech
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 431, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 430) authorizing the Committee on the Judiciary to initiate or intervene in judicial proceedings to enforce certain subpoenas and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Res. 430.
Mr. Speaker, this is a dark time. This Congress is being tested--in this case, not by a foreign adversary but by our own President, a President who is undertaking a relentless campaign of obstruction and stonewalling.
We have never seen anything like this. Never before, Mr. Speaker, has a President from either party so flagrantly ignored Congress' constitutional oversight authority and our Nation's separation of powers.
You don't have to take my word for it. President Trump has declared, ``We are fighting all the subpoenas,'' and, ``I don't want people testifying.'' These words make Richard Nixon look like an Eagle Scout.
His Attorney General, William Barr, is apparently more than willing to follow the President's command. He has refused to release the full, unredacted Mueller report and any underlying evidence until a compromise was finally reached yesterday. That is after the Judiciary Committee had already voted to hold him in contempt of Congress. Apparently, the Attorney General went from being America's lawyer to being the defense counsel for the President of the United States.
I hope the Justice Department acts in good faith on this new agreement. These are documents that Congress needs to see in response to Special Counsel Mueller's findings. But if they do not, and if the Attorney General holds back key information, then all options need to be on the table, including enforcing these subpoenas. That is in addition to the fact that some documents and testimony we deserve to obtain could very well fall outside the bounds of this agreement.
The Mueller report is just the tip of the iceberg. The President is using every trick in the book, including false claims of executive privilege, absolute immunity, and lack of legitimate legislative purpose, all to obstruct legitimate inquiries into matters that impact Americans' daily lives. This includes the President's attack on affordable healthcare coverage for millions of Americans, including those with preexisting conditions; his family separation policy that has torn apart vulnerable immigrant families; his misappropriation of military funds for his offensive border wall; and his decision to roll back landmark civil rights protections.
This is exactly the sort of concentrated power in the hands of the few that the Founders intentionally prevented through the creation of the three separate but coequal branches of government, each branch with unique powers and responsibilities and each branch expected to act as a check on the power of the others.
But the President is trying to take this balance of power and centralize it in one place, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He is acting as though the law applies to every American but himself.
The President's strategy here is clear. Tweet by tweet, quote by quote, he has laid it bare for all of us to see.
The question is whether this Congress will have the courage to take a stand against it and whether we will confront it for what it is, an attack on the very notion of Congress as a coequal branch of government. I can't speak for my friends on the other side of the aisle, but this Democratic majority will not allow this President to turn a blind eye to the rule of law.
That is why I introduced this measure, H. Res. 430. It is a civil enforcement resolution that will strengthen our hand in court as Congress tries to get the documents this administration is currently trying to hide, so we can uncover the truth and follow the facts, wherever they may lead.
The first part of this resolution follows past precedent used by Democratic and Republican majorities, this time to allow the Judiciary Committee to go to court to enforce subpoenas issued to the Attorney General and former White House General Counsel Don McGahn.
The second part reaffirms key language in House rules, making clear that every committee chair retains the ability to go to Federal court to seek civil enforcement of their subpoenas when authorized by the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group. That includes those already issued, as well as any future subpoenas.
I know some of my colleagues on the other side will be quick to claim this resolution is unprecedented. To them, I would ask this: What is the precedent for an administration refusing to comply with any congressional oversight--no documents, no information, nothing? There isn't one.
We have never seen anything like this before, so we need an appropriate response like this because of this administration's constant obstruction.
I am proud that my fellow committee chairs quickly joined in cosponsoring this resolution, including Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Cummings, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Engel, Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Neal, Intelligence Committee Chairman Schiff, and Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Waters.
I urge all of my colleagues to join us. This deserves support from both sides of the aisle.
I know the silence from some of my Republican friends to what this President is doing has been deafening, but this moment demands you finally speak up and say enough is enough. This resolution is not about politics or partisanship. It is about defending the rule of law and the very notion of separation of powers.
The challenge here is so great that if we don't stand up to President Trump today, then we risk losing the power to stand up to any President in the future.
I strongly urge my colleagues: Let's make clear that the law still matters, even in Donald Trump's America. We can do that by voting ``yes'' on this resolution and making clear that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States.
Let's do right by the American people. Let's restore the dignity of this institution. Let's pass this resolution.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Waters), the distinguished chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me just assure the gentleman from Georgia that there is nothing novel about this legislation. It is not novel because everything in this bill goes to the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, and that has been the case in the past.
What is novel, however, is a President of the United States who says ``ignore subpoenas'' and ``we will not cooperate'' and tells people not to testify. That is not only novel, it is shocking.
Mr. Speaker, I would just say to my friends on the other side: You are going to have a choice today to either vote for this resolution and stand up for this institution and support the rule of law, or you are going to vote in a way that is going to be complicit with this President's obstruction and disrespect for this institution and disrespect for the rule of law. I urge you to vote with us.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me correct the Record in response to the gentleman of Ohio. The Russians didn't attempt to interfere in our election; they did interfere in our election.
And, if my friends read the Mueller report, they would realize they interfered in the election to help Donald Trump get elected.
The distinguished minority leader began by saying that the Mueller report makes it clear that there was no collusion and no obstruction. Maybe that is what you would conclude if you just read Barr's summary which tried to cover up what the Mueller report said, but I would urge the distinguished minority leader to read the report. I am happy to lend him my bifocals if he has trouble reading it.
But the report doesn't say that. It doesn't say no collusion. And on the issue of obstruction of justice, it says: If we were convinced that he, the President, did not commit a crime, we would have said so.
That is what the report says. And I would remind my colleagues that obstruction of justice is a crime.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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