Donald Trump and his allies are now blocking 20 inquiries into Trump-Russia links, Trump’s finances, businesses, and tax matters, and the conduct of the Trump Administration at home and abroad.
The White House is carrying out an all-fronts attempt to bury the Mueller Report on Trump-Russia and on Trump’s obstruction or attempted obstruction of justice. It has instructed witnesses not to comply with subpoenas from House committees. Attorney General William Barr has refused to provide unredacted copies of the 448-page report to legislators, backed by Trump’s assertion of executive privilege, or to appear before the House Judiciary Committee.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has refused the request of the House Ways and Means Committee for Trump’s tax returns between 2012. Trump’s lawyers have instructed his accounts to refuse the House Oversight Committee subpoena for six years of financial statements.
But there is more, ranging from alleged manipulation of security clearances to relations with Saudi Arabia to the handling of the devastation in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in September 2017.
The list, compiled by The Washington Post:
1. THE MUELLER REPORT
Trump asserted executive privilege over the full report on Wednesday after Democrats also subpoenaed for the underlying evidence, just before the House Judiciary Committee charged Attorney General William P. Barr with contempt of Congress for refusing to provide the unredacted copies.
2. MCGAHN TESTIMONY
The White House has told former White House Counsel Donald McGahn to refuse a House Judiciary Committee subpoena for testimony and documents.
McGahn is a central figure in some of the eight instances of Trump’s obstruction or potential obstruction of justice, including Trump’s attempt in June 2017 to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
See also EA on Monocle 24: White House Blocks McGahn Testimony Over Trump’s Obstruction of Justice
3. TRUMP’S TAX RETURNS
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is rejecting the authority of the House Ways and Means Committee, under a 1924 law, to summon the returns from 2012 to 2018.
Trump has refused, both as a candidate and as President, to provide any material.
Last week, The New York Times obtained Trump’s tax returns from 1985 to 1994, which showed losses of $117 billion.
4. TRUMP’S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Trump’s personal and Trump Organization attorneys are suing the House Oversight Committee and his accounting firm Mazars USA to block the subpoena for his financial information.
The lawsuit cites an 1880s precedent that has been overturned and dormant for almost 100 years. A ruling could come as early as Tuesday.
5. TRUMP’S BANKS
Trump’s personal attorneys and Trump Organization lawyers are suing to block Deutsche Bank and Capital One from handing over financial documents.
The material is being sought in a Congressional investigation into Russia’s money laundering and its political interference in the 2016 Presidnetial election.
Deutsche Bank, one of the few institutions willing to lend to Trump because of his past record, had begun providing financial records to the New York State Attorney General.
6. EMOLUMENTS
Justice Department lawyers, representing Trump, have temporarily blocking subpoenas in two lawsuits over possible Constitutional violations by the Trump Organization’s business with foreign governments.
The Constitution prohibits emoluments, private gains from the holding of the Presidency.
7.. TRUMP’S HOTEL
The Trump Administration has balked at providing information to Congressiona committees over the lease for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, located in the federally-owned Old Post Office Pavilion.
The hotel is also involved in the emoluments case.
8. HUSH MONEY OVER SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS
The House Oversight Committee sent letters in January and February seeking information about payments made by Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, days before the 2016 election, to porn star Stormy Daniels.
Daniels claimed sexual encounters with Trump in 2006, soon after the birth of his son Barron. She was given $130,000.
The White House allowed the committee to review some documents in person, but has refused to hand over full records.
See TrumpWatch, Day 468: Trump Repaid $130,000 Hush Money Given to Stormy Daniels
9. SECURITY CLEARANCES
The White House has refused to answer House Oversight Committee’s questions and document demands over its security clearance process.
After Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner was denied a top-secret clearance because of questions over his finances and meetings with foreign actors, Trump intervened to get approval.
Kushner was among more than 20 people whose clearances were finally granted despite objections raised by national security officials, according to staffer Tricia Newbold.
See also TrumpWatch, Day 770: Trump Ordered Officials to Give Kushner A Security Clearance
10. TRUMP-PUTIN
The Trump Administration has refused requests for documents and communications over discussions between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump tried to conceal one conversation, at the G20 summit in July 2017, by seizing his interpreter’s notes and instructing him — the only person accompanying Trump in the meeting — not to reveal what transpired.
11. SEPARATION OF IMMIGRANT FAMILIES
The Administration has not fully responded to requests from multiple committees over its policy separating children from parents entering the US.
Almost 3,000 children were seized and detained, hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Some will not be reunited with parents for up to two years.
12. ZERO TOLERANCE
The Administration has not answered inquiries about the latest moves in its “zero tolerance” anti-immigration policy.
These include a proposal to bus immigrant children to sanctuary cities, hoping to tarnish Democratic leaderships and force them to reject the migrants, and the dismissal of officials such as Homeland Security Director Kirstjen Nielsen.
13. NATIONAL EMERGENCY DECLARATION
The White House has ignored House Judiciary Committee inquiries into the legal basis of Trump’s declaration of a “national emergency”, seeking to seize money from agencies such as the US military for the Wall with Mexico.
See also TrumpWatch, Day 785: Trump Issues Veto for His “National Emergency” and The Wall
14. OBAMACARE REPEAL
The Administration has refused to discuss the process by which it decided to challenge the Affordable Care Act in court, merely acknowledging letters sent by House committees.
15. PUERTO RICO
The House Oversight Committee has received no answers to its questions over the Federal Government’s response to Hurricane Maria. It is seeking documents by May 20.
In autumn 2017, the committee made a bipartisan request for those records to the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. There was no response.
16. SAUDI NUCLEAR TRANSFER
The White House has refused to answer House Oversight Committee questions and document requests over a proposal to transfer highly sensitive US nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia.
The proposal reportedly stemmed from pre-Administration initiatives by Trump advisor Michael Flynn, who was briefly National Security Advisor before being dismissed in February 2017 over his involvement in the Trump-Russia affair. It also may involve the personal contacts of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
17. KUSHNER’S SAUDI TRIP
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is seeking documents related to a February trip taken by Kushner to Saudi Arabia, where he reportedly met with Mohammed bin Salman.
The committee says US Embassy diplomats were left out of the meetings.
The trip followed the Crown Prince’s alleged involvement in the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey in October 2018.
18. FBI BUILDING
Five House committees are seeking records over the halt of the relocation of the FBI headquarters to the suburbs of Washington.
Democrats believe Trump was involved in the decision to prevent the building —- located across the street from the Trump International Hotel — from being replaced by a competing hotel.
There has been no response to the multiple requests.
19. CENSUS
Attorney General Barr has blocked Justice Department official John Gore from testifying to a House committee about the addition of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.
Democrats say the question is illegal and is aimed at depressing the number of undocumented immigrants counted in the census.
20. WHITE HOUSE USE OF PRIVATE E-MAIL
The White House is refusing to give any more information to the House Oversight Committee over allegations that White House officials, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka, have conducted work on private e-mail.
