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Articles by Molly Claflin
Corporations can be Democrats’ secret weapon for holding Trump accountable
Democrats are already planning how they will use their new oversight powers should they win back one or both houses of Congress in November. The first step in any plan, of course, is sending a slew of subpoenas to the White House. But there are additional, likely more productive ways to hold the Trump administration accountable. Congressional Democrats need to take a page from the Watergate investigation and follow the money.
Congress Now Has More Power to Shed Light on Trump’s Abuses of Power
Throughout former President Donald Trump’s tenure, the White House stonewalled congressional oversight requests with impunity. Most, if not all, of these matters were clearly of legitimate interest to Congress and concerned information that Congress was entitled to receive, from troubling security clearance practices to violations of federal record-keeping laws, to Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponent.
Impeach Bill Barr
Jurisprudence The attorney general’s latest obstruction of Congress warrants removal. Attorney General William Barr speaks during a press conference in Chicago, Illinois, on September 9, 2020. Kamil Krzaczynski/Getty Images After years of attack, Attorney General William Barr and President Donald Trump landed the final blow on congressional oversight on Tuesday, eliminating oversight as we know it.
Exclusive: Obstruction At All Costs: The State Department’s Petty Document Fight with Congress
The anti-constitutional spirit of the Trump administration is on full display in one of the pettiest congressional oversight fights in years, if not ever. In May, the Democratic-led House Foreign Affairs Committee asked the State Department for something very simple: copies of any documents the Department turned over to the Senate regarding two GOP-controlled Senate committees’ investigations of former Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter, and Ukraine.
House Democrats Should Be Preparing to Subpoena John Bolton
Then–national security adviser John Bolton in Minsk on Aug. 29. Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images Sonia Sotomayor Celebrates San Francisco’s New Progressive District Attorney An Appeals Court Has Kept Same-Sex Parents in Legal Limbo for 32 Months. What Happened?
Nancy Pelosi Is Right: Democrats Should Not Vote on an Impeachment Inquiry Yet
The president’s obstruction isn’t stopping anytime soon, and there are many downsides to holding the vote. Nancy Pelosi answers a question at the U.S. Capitol on Oct 2. Win McNamee/Getty Images This piece was originally published on Just Security, an online forum for analysis of U.S. national security law and policy.
A Formal Vote to Authorize Impeachment Won't Fix White House Obstruction — And Could Create More Roadblocks
Following nearly three years now of essentially complete obstruction of congressional oversight, the Trump White House has thrown up another roadblock for the House. Arguing that the House of Representatives has failed to hold a formal vote to open an impeachment inquiry, the White House has declared that it will not cooperate with legislative requests.
The Imperial Presidency and the End of Congressional Oversight
Publish Date: May 1, 2019 (Photos: Gage Skidmore, S Pakhrin) By MOLLY CLAFLIN Chief Oversight Counsel, American Oversight Donald Trump’s administration may only last four years, but its changes to America’s three co-equal branches of government will likely last much longer. Trump is systematically delegitimizing our system of checks and balances by arguing that the president should go unchecked, immune to any scrutiny from Congress.
Barr Must Share Mueller’s Investigative Work, Not Just His Report-as DOJ Did After Its Clinton Probe
TRUST, BUT VERIFY The G-men handed over their work product, not just their conclusions, about Clinton to Congress when the other party demanded to see their receipts. Now it’s Trump’s turn. BEAST INSIDE With Attorney General William Barr scrubbing Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report of material he deems unfit to share with Congress, what is eventually handed to Congress may be a redaction-riddled shell of the original.
Lying to Congress Rarely Results in Charges — Until Now. Here's How Others in Trump's Circle Could Be in Trouble - American Oversight
BY MOLLY CLAFLIN On May 6, Michael Cohen will surrender himself to a federal penitentiary after pleading guilty to lying to Congress. But before then, he is coming to Congress to testify before three congressional committees — including a public hearing before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday — and the hope is that he’ll use this do-over opportunity to tell the truth. Lying to Congress is never a good idea.
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