Donald Trump will not get away as easily as he had hoped. He has been threatening he would overthrow the next president in a coup. POTUS growled that he would steal the voting machines for a “checkup.” He even wanted to install Marshall Law using the US military. But things are not working out for him as he anticipated.
Certainly, New York’s Attorney General Letitia James will be waiting for him as he deplanes from the presidency for tax issues. Plus, the House Oversight and Reform Committee will send out a renewed subpoena for Trump’s financial records in the next session of Congress, according to the panel speaking to a federal appeals court, according to the committee.
The committee is seeking eight years of records related to Trump and his businesses via the president’s accountants. The subpoena has been tied up in court over a lawsuit from Trump seeking to block lawmakers’ access to the documents.
Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) is the new permanent chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Attorneys for the Oversight Committee wrote in the court filing:
‘If this case has not been resolved before the end of this Congress, the Chairwoman will reissue the subpoena to Mazars at the start of the next Congress. It remains critically important that the Oversight Committee—and the House more broadly—be able to secure prompt subpoena enforcement without the risk that investigative subjects will thwart its efforts through litigation delay.’
The panel wrote:
‘As the Oversight Committee has consistently explained, it is investigating whether President Trump has undisclosed conflicts of interest that may impair his decision-making; whether existing financial disclosure laws should be amended to ensure adequate disclosures; whether President Trump’s lease with the General Services Administration (GSA) for the Trump Old Post Office Hotel has been properly managed; whether legislative reform is needed to prevent Presidential self-dealing in government contracting; and whether President Trump has received unconstitutional emoluments that raise conflicts-of-interest and other concerns for Congress,’
This past summer the Supreme Court ruled for a federal appeals court overruled a federal appeals court win for the House Democrats.
In the meantime, the president’s attorneys have asked Trump’s lawyers to either reject the subpoena completely or send the case back to the district court.
The House Judiciary Committee has also been subpoenaing the former White House counsel Don McGahn.
Last week, the House Judiciary Committee made a similar commitment to continue to pursue its subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn.
Maloney has sent David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, a letter. She is gravely concerned that Donald Trump might be disposing of records. The law requires him to preserve all of them, but this president is known for destroying anything on paper.
Maloney wrote for the committee:
‘As you know, the Presidential Records Act imposes legal obligations on the President and the White House to preserve and maintain presidential records. It also requires the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to “assume responsibility for the custody, control, and preservation of, and access to the Presidential records of that President.”‘
The Presidential Records Act makes it illegal for Trump to dispose of any of his presidential records unless he gets written permission to dispose of them. Ferriero must also, by law, “request the advice” of the Committee and any other relevant committees when such a request is received.
She is concerned that these records “may be of special interest to the Congress” or if “consultation with the Congress regarding the disposal” is in the public interest. Maloney said:
‘I am concerned that the outgoing Trump Administration may not be adequately preserving records and may be disposing of them without first obtaining your views, as required by law.’
Since the country is in virtual lockdown as the coronavirus pandemic washes across it, NARA has not deployed anyone to the White House to “assist or oversee this process” as was done during previous transition periods. The White House is a particularly virulent location.
Maloney was not alone. All of the House Committee Chairs also sent Trump letters along with over 50 federal agencies. They are warning the president that he must “comply with federal record-keeping laws and preserve information responsive to congressional subpoenas and investigations.”
The House intends to pursue Trump long after he leaves in January.
The Mueller Report Adventures: In Bite-Sizes on this Facebook page. These quick, two-minute reads interpret the report in normal English for busy people. Mueller Bite-Sizes uncovers what is essentially a compelling spy mystery. Interestingly enough, Mueller Bite-Sizes can be read in any order.
