Full title: Nadler leading Cold War-style 'inquisition' against Trump, House Judiciary panel's ranking Republican says
The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee unloaded on the panel's chairman, Jerry Nadler, in a fiery letter on Thursday, accusing the New York Democrat of conducting an unconstitutional "inquisition" into President Trump and his associates "reminiscent of Eastern regimes during the Cold War."
Nadler, who would oversee any impeachment proceedings against President Trump, this week announced dozens of document requests -- including to the National Rifle Association (NRA), WikiLeaks and key figures in the Trump Organization -- in a barrage that Nadler called the opening salvo in new and wide-ranging investigations into the White House.
Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking member on the committee, charged that Nadler's investigation runs "afoul of nearly 150 years of Supreme Court precedent and over 200 years of oversight conducted by this committee."
Collins previously told Nadler to "come back to reality" following his sweeping document requests -- and, in his letter on Thursday, he told Nadler to pay more attention to the Constitution.
Specifically, Collins wrote, "Congress can only exercise its oversight power with a valid legislative purpose in sight. Congress should not—and, according to the Supreme Court, cannot—conduct oversight for the sake of exposure alone. Absent a formal impeachment inquiry — which you have been clear your nascent investigation is not — oversight for the sake of exposure is exactly what your investigation appears to be doing.”
Collins cited Watkins v. United States, a 1957 Supreme Court case that held “there is no general authority to expose the private affairs of individuals without justification in terms of the functions of the Congress.”
The Watkins Court, Collins added, also wrote a congressional inquiry “must be related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of Congress.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I'm just waiting for them to start subpoenaing Trump donors.
4
The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee unloaded on the panel's chairman, Jerry Nadler, in a fiery letter on Thursday, accusing the New York Democrat of conducting an unconstitutional "inquisition" into President Trump and his associates "reminiscent of Eastern regimes during the Cold War."
Nadler, who would oversee any impeachment proceedings against President Trump, this week announced dozens of document requests -- including to the National Rifle Association (NRA), WikiLeaks and key figures in the Trump Organization -- in a barrage that Nadler called the opening salvo in new and wide-ranging investigations into the White House.
Georgia Republican Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking member on the committee, charged that Nadler's investigation runs "afoul of nearly 150 years of Supreme Court precedent and over 200 years of oversight conducted by this committee."
Collins previously told Nadler to "come back to reality" following his sweeping document requests -- and, in his letter on Thursday, he told Nadler to pay more attention to the Constitution.
Specifically, Collins wrote, "Congress can only exercise its oversight power with a valid legislative purpose in sight. Congress should not—and, according to the Supreme Court, cannot—conduct oversight for the sake of exposure alone. Absent a formal impeachment inquiry — which you have been clear your nascent investigation is not — oversight for the sake of exposure is exactly what your investigation appears to be doing.”
Collins cited Watkins v. United States, a 1957 Supreme Court case that held “there is no general authority to expose the private affairs of individuals without justification in terms of the functions of the Congress.”
The Watkins Court, Collins added, also wrote a congressional inquiry “must be related to, and in furtherance of, a legitimate task of Congress.”
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I'm just waiting for them to start subpoenaing Trump donors.
4