Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California said that if his party had control of the United States House of Representatives, they would hold hearings “next week” on Donald Trump’s violation of campaign finance laws.
In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, Congressman Lieu says if and when the Democrats regain control of the House, they’re “going to be subpoenaing people,” over this and other matters.
Video:
Rep. Ted Lieu says Democrats will hold hearings on the Stormy Daniels payoff if they gain control of the House. #ctl #p2 #Trump pic.twitter.com/CxZc06BxST
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Transcript:
CHRIS HAYES: Charlie Dent, retiring congressman from Pennsylvania, says there should be hearings on this, said if Obama were doing it, we would be ‘waving the bloody shirt.’ What would congressional oversight of this in particular on your committee look like if the members and the majority wanted to exert it?
TED LIEU: We would have hearings next when we come back from recess. I have to say I was deeply disturbed when Paul Ryan threatened saying, ‘Hey, if the Democrats take back the House, we’re going to be subpoenaing people.’ Well, yes. We’re going to be executing our responsibility to be a check and balance on the executive branch and we will be issuing subpoenas to make sure we have appropriate oversight over the executive branch and all the bad things happening.
Republicans are shirking their responsibilityÂ
Since Donald Trump took office, Republicans have refused to carry out their responsibility to be a check on the executive branch of government.
Each step of the way, they have either ignored the corruption in the White House or distracted from it by waging attacks on the FBI.
When it comes to the campaign season payoff of Stormy Daniels, congressional hearings should be held immediately, as Rep. Lieu said on Thursday.
After Rudy Giuliani admitted on live television that Trump was directly involved in the hush payment and laundered the money through Michael Cohen’s law firm, hearings and accountability become even more imperative.
As the majority party in Congress, Republicans can and likely will continue turning a blind eye to Donald Trump’s crimes. But when the voters weigh in this fall, that will no longer be an option.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
