House Democrats will be moving to pursue criminal contempt charges against William Barr and Wilbur Ross over their refusal to turn over documents related to the Census citizenship question.
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Politico reported, “House Democratic leaders plan to move forward with criminal contempt proceedings against Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross for defying congressional subpoenas for documents related to the 2020 census, senior Democratic aides said Monday. Being held in contempt by Congress will be an embarrassment for the Trump administration officials, but it won’t lead to many tangible consequences.”
The DOJ won’t file criminal charges against the Attorney General and the Commerce Secretary, but the point isn’t to get them thrown in prison. The purpose of this activity is to shine a light on the Trump administration’s criminality and humiliate Donald Trump by pointing out that he has surrounded himself with criminals.
Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats that action was coming on the Census, “Our fight for a fair Census also continues. It is essential to who we are as a nation and how we meet the needs of the American people. Before the break, the Oversight Committee voted on a bipartisan basis to hold the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce in contempt of Congress for defying the Committee’s bipartisan subpoenas for documents that would shed light on the real reason the Administration added a citizenship question. We will be moving forward in the whole House soon. In both the case of the Census and the abhorrent conditions for children and families at the border, we must hold the Trump Administration and the GOP accountable.”
Speaker Pelosi is educating a nation that isn’t paying enough attention to what the Trump administration is doing.
Before Democrats can impeach, they must demonstrate high crimes, and the obstruction of the Census citizenship question fits the definition of an impeachable high crime.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
