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House Oversight and Reform Committee Elijah Cummings
Elijah Eugene CummingsCummings Draws Contempt Votes for Barr and Ross for Wednesday Cummings Sets Contempt Votes for Barr, Ross for Wednesday, Steyer Group for 12 Democrats in Congress Condemned for Removal MORE (D-Md.) Declared Tuesday that he would delay contempt votes on his committee for the Attorney General William Barr
William Pelham BarrAmash leaves the House Freedom Caucus following the indictment of Trump Tensions between Democrats, justice calm for a day Tensions between Democrats and Justice, calm for a day MORE and secretary of commerce Wilbur Ross
Wilbur Louis RossCummings draws contentious votes for Ross and Ross for Wednesday Cummings for contempt votes for Barr and Ross for Wednesday, Trump's interim budget chief insists that the ban of Huawei be delayed MORE if officials provided certain documents to Congress before Wednesday.
In a letter sent to Barr on Tuesday night, Cummings criticized a letter from the Department of Justice (DOJ) sent earlier in the day in which he was warned that the ministry would ask President Trump
Donald John Trump Armed Services Republicans Advocate for Defense Budget 0B Amash Leaves House Freedom Caucus Following Accusation of Trump Amash Leaves House Freedom Caucus after Trump's Indictment to assert the executive's privilege over the census citizenship issue materials cited by the committee as a result of the contempt vote scheduled for Wednesday morning.
"In other words, without making a recognizable counter-offer for the documents subpoenaed, the department seems to indicate that it can cease to produce admissible documents for which even the department recognizes that no privilege exists, and it can also refuse documents in other investigations, "writes Cummings.
"The Committee can not accept these conditions. Under the Constitution, the Committee is responsible for rigorously supervising the census and we will not continue to delay our efforts because of your persistent obstruction, "he added.
While he wrote that the Department of Justice had "made no commitment" to hand over certain documents and "no counter-offers regarding these documents," Cummings said he would be willing to delay the contempt vote when he received some important documents before Wednesday.
The president asked the Justice Department to hand over to John Gore, a senior official in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, an unexpurgated memorandum sent by the then Commerce Department lawyer. , James Uthmeier.
He also requested that the DOJ provide "all drafts" of a letter sent to the Department of Commerce by the Department of Commerce in December 2017. This letter was the official request of the Department of Justice to the Commerce Department officials. 39, add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Cummings also said Tuesday in his letter that he would delay Ross's contempt vote if the Department of Commerce handed him unredacted copies of the documents also requested in the Congressional summons.
He asked the Department of Justice to respond before 9 pm
The Hill solicited comments from the Ministries of Justice and Commerce.
Deputy Attorney General Stephen Boyd on Tuesday urged Cummings to delay the contempt vote scheduled for Wednesday, when Trump would question whether the privilege of executive privilege would be guaranteed.
But Cummings wrote in this new letter that the request "to have more time to consider the privilege of the executive does not take into account multiple repeated warnings that the Committee would proceed insultingly if the Department of Justice and the Ministry of Commerce continued to retain the assigned documents. "
The powerful chairman of the Oversight Committee is overseeing the congressional investigation into the Trump administration's efforts to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, which critics say will lead to an inaccurate count of the population.
The Trump administration argued that the issue was necessary to enforce the law on voting rights.
Three federal judges ruled against the issue, preventing it from appearing in the 2020 census.
But the Supreme Court is currently considering the possibility of allowing this issue, and the conservative majority of the court seems ready to rule in favor of Trump officials.
If Wednesday's contempt vote takes place, it will take place only hours after the House voted to give committee chairs the power to sue the courts to enforce their subpoenas.
At a press conference after the vote, Cummings said the survey on the issue of census citizenship was part of the Trump administration's "campaign to block investigations in all areas." areas".
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are fighting for the soul of our democracy," he said. "And we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold this administration accountable and to ensure that the government works effectively and efficiently on behalf of all citizens."
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