Page 13 - HOH

A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 13 June 2019

House panel votes to hold top U.S. officials in contempt

By MATTHEW DALY and MI- constitutionally mandated
CHAEL BALSAMO responsibilities.” Trump has
Associated Press pledged to “fight all the
WASHINGTON (AP) — A subpoenas” issued by Con-
House committee voted gress and says he won’t
Wednesday to hold two work on legislative priorities,
top Trump administra- such as infrastructure, until
tion officials in contempt Congress halts investiga-
of Congress for failing to tions of his administration.
comply with subpoenas Ross told the committee
for documents related to a the March 2018 decision
decision adding a citizen- to add the question was
ship question to the 2020 based on a Justice Depart-
census. ment request to help it en-
The Democratic-controlled force the Voting Rights Act.
House Oversight Commit- Cummings disputed that,
tee voted 24-15 to ad- citing documents un-
vance contempt measures earthed last week suggest-
against Attorney General ing that the real reason the
William Barr and Com- administration sought to
merce Secretary Wilbur add the citizenship ques-
Ross. Rep. Justin Amash of tion was to help officials
Michigan, who has said he House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., listens to an gerrymander legislative dis-
supports an impeachment objection by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, left, the ranking member, as they debate whether to hold tricts in overtly partisan and
inquiry against President Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for failing to turn racist ways.
Donald Trump, was the over subpoenaed documents related to the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship Computer files from North
sole Republican to join with question to the 2020 census, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 12, 2019. Carolina redistricting ex-
Democrats. Associated Press pert Tom Hofeller include
The vote sends the con- cials to force compliance porters after the vote. “It for nearly seven hours in detailed calculations that
tempt measures to the full with congressional subpoe- goes to the bedrock of March. lay out gains Republicans
House, although congres- nas without a vote of the our very society and our The Justice Department would see in Texas by bas-
sional leaders could go full House, as long as they democracy. We need to said two senior officials ing legislative districts on
directly to court to try to have approval from a bi- make sure the census is were interviewed by com- the number of voting-age
force compliance with the partisan group of House counted and counted ac- mittee staff and said offi- citizens rather than the to-
subpoenas under a resolu- leaders. curately.” cials were working to pro- tal population.
tion approved earlier this Democrats fear the citizen- A spokeswoman for Barr duce tens of thousands of Hofeller, a Republican op-
week. ship question will reduce said the committee’s vote additional pages of rele- erative who died last year,
The committee’s action census participation in im- defied logic and under- vant documents. said in the documents that
marks an escalation of migrant-heavy communi- mined Congress’ credibility Cummings disputed that GOP gains would be possi-
Democratic efforts to use ties and result in a severe with the American people. account and said most of ble only if the census asked
their House majority to ag- undercount of minority vot- “Despite the committee’s the documents turned over every household about its
gressively investigate the ers. They say they want spe- political games, the de- to the committee had al- members’ immigration sta-
inner workings of the Trump cific documents to deter- partment will remain fo- ready been made public. tus for the first time since
administration. mine why Ross added the cused on its critical work “We must protect the in- 1950.
The vote came as the question to the 2020 cen- safeguarding the Ameri- tegrity of the census and The Supreme Court is con-
White House asserted ex- sus and contend the ad- can people and upholding we must stand up for Con- sidering the citizenship
ecutive privilege on the ministration has declined the rule of law,” spokes- gress’ authority under the question . A ruling is ex-
matter Wednesday. The to provide the documents woman Kerri Kupec said. Constitution to conduct pected by the end of the
Justice Department said despite repeated requests. Ross said in a statement meaningful oversight,” month.
officials had “engaged in The oversight panel’s chair- that the committee’s vote Cummings said before “I think it’s totally ridicu-
good-faith efforts” to satisfy man, Rep. Elijah Cummings “demonstrated its scorn for Wednesday’s vote. lous that we would have
the committee’s oversight of Maryland, said he was the Constitution.” He ac- The administration’s refusal a census without asking”
needs and labeled the saddened by the vote, but cused Democrats of “con- to turn over requested doc- about citizenship, Trump
contempt vote “unneces- called it an important step tinually refusing to engage uments “does not appear said Wednesday, “but the
sary and premature.” to assert Congress’ consti- in the constitutionally man- to be an effort to engage Supreme Court is going to
It was not clear what would tutional authority to serve dated accommodation in good-faith negotiations be ruling on it soon. I think
happen next. A resolution as a check on executive process.” or accommodations,” he when the census goes out
approved by the House on power. The administration has said. “Instead, it appears ... you have the right to ask
Tuesday empowers com- “The census is something turned over more than to be another example of whether or not somebody
mittee chairs to sue top that is so very, very impor- 17,000 of pages of docu- the administration’s blan- is a citizen of the United
Trump administration offi- tant,” Cummings told re- ments and Ross testified ket defiance of Congress’ States.”q