Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said that Trump was engaging in unprecedented obstruction of Congress with his move to limit the testimony of Corey Lewandowski.
Here is the hearing notice:
The House Judiciary Comm. is holding a hearing at 1pm on "Presidential Obstruction of Justice and Abuse of Power." The White House/DOJ blocked former WH aides Rick Dearborn and Rob Porter from testifying, and limited what former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski can say pic.twitter.com/gC62tNnspQ
— Zoe Tillman (@ZoeTillman) September 17, 2019
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Video of Lieu on MSNBC:
Ted Lieu destroys Trump's bogus claim of executive privilege over Corey Lewandowski's testimony. pic.twitter.com/1VoL61Jbdv
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) September 17, 2019
Rep. Lieu said on MSNBC, “This is unprecedented obstruction of congress, and it’s not just the judiciary committee. For example, we’re trying to find out why is the Trump administration suing to eliminate health care coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions they won’t provide that information either it’s across the board. And specifically for the judiciary hearing, we wanted to get in porter and Dearborn they won’t allow those folks to even come and show up before Congress we’re litigating and we believe we’re going to win in court.”
Trump is obstructing a congressional hearing on obstruction of justice. Trump’s shield of Lewandowski is illegal because Corey Lewandowski never worked for the Executive Branch of the government. He does not fall under any executive privilege claim made by Donald Trump. Ted Lieu was correct. Trump has taken presidential obstruction of Congress to a new level. However, it is a repetition of the same playbook.
Trump is trying to run out the clock on House Democrats by forcing them to sue to get every document and witness.
Rep. Lieu was right. Democrats will win in court, but Trump’s goal is to delay impeachment until after the 2020 election. Trump’s actions are illegal, as his obstruction of Congress itself is an impeachable offense.
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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
