Whether it’s dealing with the corruption of the past, present, or future, the dividing lines in Congress are becoming more clear every day: Democrats are trying to do something about it, and Republicans are trying to protect it.
As President Trump and other Republicans lashed out about House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler’s 81 document requests, Nadler had a simple answer in his chat with Rachel Maddow last night:
“We have to investigate, and hold hearings, and lay out for the American people if the administration is involved in abuses of power or obstruction of justice…There has to be a check on the executive. We have to protect the rule of law.”
Protecting the rule of law means cracking down on the Republican #CultureOfCorruption that’s been a pall over this country for too long.
- Step 1: Crack down on past corruption. That’s why the House Judiciary Committee issued 81 document requests to Trump-related organizations, entities, and individuals yesterday. That’s why there are robust investigations in multiple House committees. That’s why Trump & Co. are scared.
- Step 2: Make sure it doesn’t rear its head again in the future. That’s why House Democrats’ first bill was H.R. 1, the For the People Act. It’s a major anti-corruption package that will reform campaign finance, protect voting rights, combat dark money in politics, and prevent unethical corruption from ever permeating every level of government again.
This is what Congressional oversight looks like; Republicans just don’t like it.
House Republicans spent the last two years not only ignoring the Trump administration’s corruption, but actively shielding Trump and his associates. Funny, considering they spent the previous six years vilifying the Obama administration for everything under the sun.
When Republicans took control of the House in 2010, former House Oversight Chair Darrell Issa vowed an aggressive expansion of oversight: “I want seven hearings a week, times 40 weeks.” Under Issa, House Republicans issued over 100 subpoenas to the Obama administration.
The key difference? While Issa came up empty-handed on Obama, practically the entire top tier of Trump’s campaign has already been indicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes.
ACTION OF THE DAY: PROTECT OUR COURTS.
☎️ It’s time to call your Senators. ☎️
Once again, Trump is threatening American rights and wellbeing with two disturbing lifetime nominees to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals:
Chad Readler
- As an assistant attorney general, Readler filed a brief defending the Trump administration’s sabotage of the Affordable Care Act. Trump nominated Readler to the federal bench the very next day.
Eric Murphy
- Murphy has a frightening record on reproductive rights, special interests, voting rights, marriage equality—you name it.
- He argued against marriage equality in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges, defended Ohio’s voter purge in Husted v. APRI, and argued in support of severe restrictions on abortion care and contraceptive access.
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), both nominees’ home state senator, strongly opposes Readler and Murphy. But the Senate plans to vote today to advance Readler’s nomination—and Murphy isn’t far behind.
Call your Senators today, and demand they oppose Readler and Murphy to protect your rights and health care: 202-224-3121