Lately, it seems that the Democrats just can’t get their shit together when it comes to impeachment. Let’s face it, we’re rooting for them, but they’ve left quite a bit to be desired here recently — with Democratic leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attempting to play the long game in hopes that further investigations will bury Trump without the hassle of impeachment proceedings.
But while the House Oversight Committee has been diligently chipping away at numerous investigations, they seem to be getting nowhere fast while Donald and members of his family and administration continue to simply ignore congressional subpoenas.
Donald’s attorneys have recently tried to jump on what they perceive as Democratic inaction by fighting a subpoena that’s requesting the president’s financial records. However, they may have made a big ole whoopsie when they poked the mama bear that is Madame Speaker Pelosi — essentially daring her to impeach the motherfucker by claiming that the House Oversight Committee has no authority to enforce a subpoena of financial records until impeachment has been put on the table.
Well, okay then. Ask and ye shall receive.
Trump’s lawyers are referring to a subpoena sent to Trump’s former accounting firm, Mazars USA, back in April of this year seeking eight years of the president’s financial records. Of course, Donald quickly intervened (because that’s exactly what innocent people do) and asked U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to negate the subpoenas, saying that it falls outside of Congress’ constitutional duties.
However, after tons of justification from Congress, Mehta refused Donald’s request, ultimately concluding that it “is simply not fathomable that a Constitution that grants Congress the power to remove a President for reasons including criminal behavior would deny Congress the power to investigate him for unlawful conduct—past or present—even without formally opening an impeachment inquiry.”
Evidently, Donald’s legal team took that as a challenge. Of course, they attempted to refute every last point made by the District Judge, but in particular, they cited the lack of impeachment proceedings as the reason for defying the subpoena.
“While Congress could presumably use subpoenas to advance [its impeachment] powers,” the lawyers stated in a brief. “The Committee has not invoked them.”
The attorneys were in such a tizzy, they went on:
“Speaker Pelosi has steadfastly denied that the House’s investigations are in any way related to impeachment. In March, she unequivocally told the Washington Post, ‘I’m not for impeachment.’ In late May, the Speaker reiterated that ‘any suggestion that Democrats are planning to pursue impeachment “simply isn’t the truth.”‘ After she received the district court’s ruling in this case, the Speaker boasted that the Committee had prevailed despite ‘the fact the House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment.’ Just four days ago, the Speaker again told senior Democratic leaders that ‘she isn’t open to the idea’ of impeachment, and Chairman Cummings sided with Pelosi.”
So basically, they want to play a game of cat and mouse with Nancy Pelosi. Let’s just hope she turns out to be the tiger we’re all hoping for.
Featured image via DC Tribune Gallery
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