Last night I recounted how House Democratic Majority Whip Jim Clyburn reversed himself as the House Democratic leadership continues to be for and against impeachment at the same time. This morning, it seems House Democratic committee chairs are finally moving forward with making the very loud, very public case for impeachment.
The House Judiciary Committee is preparing to call Watergate star witness and former Nixon White House counsel John Dean to testify on the Mueller report, an effort to draw public attention to special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings amid heated debate over the prospect of impeaching President Donald Trump.
Dean will be featured on a June 10 panel that also includes former U.S. attorneys and legal experts to discuss Mueller's evidence that Trump repeatedly attempted to obstruct or constrain his investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to the committee.
The hearings are part of a broader strategy shift for the committee, reported last month by POLITICO, that comes with Democrats concerned that they've been mired in arcane procedural battles with the White House ever since Mueller finalized his report in March.
“These hearings will allow us to examine the findings laid out in Mueller’s report so that we can work to protect the rule of law and protect future elections through consideration of legislative and other remedies," said committee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.).
All I have to say is:
About damn time!
The day after the Dean hearing, the House Democratic leadership will finally hold Attorney General William Barr and former WH lawyer Don McGahn in contempt for skipping out on their subpoenas.
The House will vote next week to hold Attorney General William Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress for defying congressional subpoenas, according to multiple Democratic sources.
The resolution would clear the way for the House Judiciary Committee to take Barr and McGahn to court to enforce their subpoenas and are a crucial step for Democrats seeking to accelerate their obstruction of justice investigation against President Donald Trump.
"This Administration’s systematic refusal to provide Congress with answers and cooperate with Congressional subpoenas is the biggest cover-up in American history, and Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight on behalf of the American people,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said in a statement.
Barr has failed to comply with a subpoena for special counsel Robert Mueller's fully unredacted report and underlying evidence; McGahn balked at a subpoena to testify before the House Judiciary Committee.
The vote, which will take place on June 11, will also include broad authority for congressional committees to take legal action against the Trump administration in future subpoena fights, the Democratic sources say.
The vote, supported by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Hoyer and other top members of House leadership, will authorize the House to hold the two men in civil contempt. Democrats will forgo an effort to hold them in criminal contempt, which Democratic sources described as an empty gesture because Barr in particular would never face charges from his own Justice Department.
Now we're finally going to get somewhere, but beware the Trump regime's counterattack. They know they have to get the Dean hearings and the contempt votes off the evening news. There's only a couple of things that would do that, and Trump is capable of any of them.
Well, except for resignation.
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