A Journal of People report
Political fight in the U.S. Congress between the Democrats and the Republicans is an important issue for knowing bourgeois politics in the country, an advanced bourgeois democracy. Recent incidents are examples of the political fights between the two wings of the ruling classes in the U.S.
On April 3, 2019, a Reuters report said:
“U.S. congressional Democrats on Wednesday (April 3, 2019) authorized a powerful committee chairman to subpoena Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s full report on Russia’s role in the 2016 election, moving closer to a legal clash with President Donald Trump’s administration.
“The Democratic-led House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted to enable its chairman, Jerrold Nadler, to subpoena the Justice Department to obtain Mueller’s unredacted report and all underlying evidence as well as documents and testimony from five former Trump aides including political strategist Steve Bannon.
“Nadler has not yet exercised that authority, with the timing of any such move uncertain. The committee vote was 24-17 along party lines, with Democrats in favour and Trump’s fellow Republicans opposed.”
The “Democrats in Congress authorise subpoenas for Trump-Russia report, legal battle looms” headlined report said:
“Attorney General William Barr, a Trump appointee, issued a four-page summary of Mueller’s main conclusions last month including that the special counsel did not establish that the Trump campaign conspired with Russia during the election.
“Barr has pledged to release the nearly 400-page report by mid-April with certain portions blacked out for reasons such as protecting secret grand jury information and intelligence-gathering sources and methods.”
The report from Washington D.C. said:
“In addition to Bannon, the committee authorised subpoenas for former White House Counsel Donald McGahn, former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks and former White House deputy counsel Ann Donaldson.
“They are among 81 people, agencies and entities the panel has sought documents from as part of its obstruction and corruption investigation into Trump and his associates.”
The report by David Morgan said:
“Nadler’s panel shifted its focus to subpoenas to obtain the Mueller report when it became clear Barr would ignore a Democratic demand [to] turn it over unredacted by a Tuesday deadline. Democrats have expressed concern Barr could use redactions to suppress evidence of potential misconduct by Trump and his campaign.
“Nadler said he would work with Barr ‘for a short period of time in the hope that he will reveal to us the entire Mueller report and all the underlying materials’ and will go to court to get permission to obtain the grand jury material.
“‘But if that doesn’t work out in a very short order, we will issue the subpoenas,’ Nadler added. ‘… The committee must see everything.’”
The report said:
“The potential battle between the executive and legislative branches over the subpoenas could end up being resolved by the federal government’s third branch – the judiciary.
“Representative Doug Collins, the committee’s top Republican, said Democrats are ‘desperate for dirt on this president.’
“‘This is reckless. It’s irresponsible. And it’s disingenuous,’ Collins said. ‘It’s also confusing since the attorney general is doing exactly what he said he would be doing: making as much of the report public as possible under federal law and departmental policy.’
“It was not clear how likely the Justice Department would be to hand over subpoenaed documents. It could ignore a subpoena, running the risk of being held in contempt of Congress, and prepare for a potentially lengthy court battle.”
A 100 million dollar question
“In another development, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee, led by Trump critic Adam Schiff, is seeking an interview with and documents from a top organizer on Trump’s inaugural committee.
“Citing people familiar with the request, the Journal reported that the effort signaled that Congress is expanding its probe of how the inaugural committee raised and spent more than $100 million.
“Barr’s March 24 letter to lawmakers explaining Mueller’s ‘principal conclusions’ said the special counsel did not exonerate Trump on obstruction of justice. Barr himself subsequently concluded that Mueller’s inquiry had not found sufficient evidence to warrant criminal obstruction charges against Trump.”
Denial
The report said:
“Trump has denied collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. Moscow denied election interference. Mueller and U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia used a campaign of hacking and propaganda to harm Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and boost Trump.
“Democrats have pledged to fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce a subpoena and obtain the full report.
“‘If the department still refuses, then it should be up to a judge – not the president or his political appointee – to decide whether it is appropriate for the committee to review the complete record,’ Nadler said.
Trump ally Lindsey Graham, Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote on Twitter that the House panel’s demand for classified information and grand jury testimony was ‘dangerous and ridiculous.’
“The Justice Department declined comment. Priebus declined to comment. A lawyer for Priebus, Bannon and McGahn, as well as a Bannon spokeswoman, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.”
The Reuters report said:
“Justice Department regulations give the attorney general wide latitude on how much to release from special counsel inquiries. Nadler told reporters he would also seek a judge’s permission to get access to Mueller’s grand jury material, which is protected under federal law. Nadler said Barr has not been willing to seek a court order to release the data so far.
“Republican Representative Jim Sensenbrenner said he would be willing to join legal action to obtain the grand jury material and predicted other Republicans would as well, noting that the House voted overwhelmingly last month for the full report’s release to Congress.”
The tangle
An earlier report by Reuters said:
“President Donald Trump’s Republican allies tangled with one of Trump’s most prominent Democratic critics during a chaotic congressional hearing on Thursday …
“Hours after Trump went on Twitter to demand that Democrat Adam Schiff resign from Congress, Republican lawmakers called on him to quit as chairman of the bitterly divided House of Representatives Intelligence Committee because of his comments about the president’s 2016 campaign and Russia.
“Schiff quickly fired back at a tumultuous hearing and called actions by the president’s associates unpatriotic and corrupt.”
The “Trump, allies tangle with key Democrat; Mueller report is 300 pages” headlined report said:
“House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, defended Schiff and called the actions of Trump and committee Republicans ‘shameful’ and ‘irresponsible.’
“Attorney General William Barr, empowered by Justice Department regulations to decide how much of the special counsel’s report to make public, on Sunday released his four-page summary of Mueller’s findings. Barr said Mueller did not establish that Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia in the 2016 election.
“The attorney general informed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler about the length of the report in a telephone call on Wednesday, a Justice Department official said. Barr also agreed to testify before Nadler’s committee, although no date was set, the official said.”
The Washington, March 29, 2019 datelined report said:
“Republicans in the Senate on Thursday thwarted another effort by Democrats to pass a resolution calling for the Mueller report to be made available to the public and Congress. The House has passed a similar resolution.
“A Justice Department official said on Tuesday that Barr would issue a public version of the report within ‘weeks, not months.’ But top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer said Barr’s delay of the release has ‘too much of the odor of political expediency to help the man who appointed him, President Trump.’
“Pelosi also demanded the report’s release. ‘No, thank you, Mr. Attorney General. We do not need your interpretation. Show us the report and we’ll come to our own conclusions,’ she said.”
The report said:
“Republicans have launched a counter-attack against Democrats since Barr released his summary. Trump used an early-morning Twitter post to assail Schiff, whose committee is investigating Russia’s influence on U.S. elections.
“‘Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!’ Trump wrote.
“Trump did not give specifics of his accusations against Schiff, who has not been accused by authorities of leaking classified information.”
Schiff vs. Committee Republicans
The report added:
“Republican members of the intelligence panel opened a Thursday session on Russian meddling with an attack on Schiff. They said all nine Republican panel members had signed a letter asking him to quit.
“Representative Mike Conaway read the letter to Schiff, accusing him of spreading ‘false information’ and saying Republicans had no faith in his ability ‘to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your constitutional responsibility.’
“Schiff responded by citing a list of the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russians, from Donald Trump Jr. welcoming a Russian offer of ‘dirt’ on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, to former national security adviser Michael Flynn secretly discussing easing U.S. sanctions on Russia with Moscow’s ambassador before Trump became president.
“‘You might say that’s all OK,’ Schiff said. ‘You might say that’s just what you need to do to win. But I don’t think it’s OK. I think it’s immoral. I think it’s unethical. I think it’s unpatriotic and, yes, I think it’s corrupt – and evidence of collusion.’”
The 34 who were charged
The report informed:
“During his investigation, Mueller brought charges against 34 people, including Russian agents and former Trump aides. Mueller left unresolved in his report the question of whether Trump committed obstruction of justice by impeding the Russia investigation and did not exonerate the president, Barr said. Barr himself concluded there was insufficient evidence to establish that Trump had committed obstruction of justice.”
A bitter split
The Reuters said:
“‘They’re afraid of the truth. They’re afraid of competence,’ Pelosi told her weekly news conference. ‘I’m so proud of the work of Chairman Adam Schiff.’
“The House intelligence committee has been bitterly split along party lines for years on the Russia investigation, which was taken over by Mueller in May 2017 after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
“The committee’s Republicans wrapped up their investigation a year ago, finding no collusion between Trump and Moscow to influence the vote. Democrats, led by Schiff, blasted the announcement as premature.”
The report said:
“The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that Russia used a campaign of hacking and propaganda to sow discord in the United States, harm Clinton and boost Trump’s candidacy. Russia denied election interference.”
Knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking
Another earlier Reuters report headlined “Trump, fellow Republicans want House intelligence chief Adam Schiff out” said:
“U.S. President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans in Congress urged House intelligence committee chairman Adam Schiff to resign on Thursday, drawing an unequivocal rejection from their Democratic target.
“‘Congressman Adam Schiff, who spent two years knowingly and unlawfully lying and leaking, should be forced to resign from Congress!’ Trump wrote in an early morning Twitter post.”
The report by Patricia Zengerle and Doina Chiacu from Washington said:
“Republicans on Thursday intensified the counter-attack they launched when Attorney General William Barr issued a summary on Sunday of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s 22-month investigation into whether Trump’s campaign worked with Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election.
“Barr said Mueller had been unable to find that the Trump campaign conspired with Moscow to influence the election. The special counsel left unresolved questions about whether the president obstructed justice.”
It said:
“Within hours of Trump’s tweet on Thursday, Republicans on the House committee used the start of a hearing on Russia and efforts to influence U.S. elections to attack Schiff. They said all nine Republican panel members had signed a letter asking him to quit.”
It said:
“Schiff, who has not been accused by authorities of leaking classified information, responded strongly as the hearing erupted into acrimony.
“He delivered a laundry list of the Trump campaign’s contacts with Russians, from Donald Trump Jr. welcoming a Russian offer of dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, to short-lived national security adviser Michael Flynn secretly discussing U.S. sanctions on Russia with Moscow’s ambassador.
“‘You might say that’s all OK. You might say that’s just what you need to do to win. But I don’t think it’s OK. I think it’s immoral. I think it’s unethical. I think it’s unpatriotic and, yes, I think it’s corrupt – and evidence of collusion,’ Schiff said.”
Years of acrimony
The report added:
“At Thursday’s hearing, the committee’s top Republican, Devin Nunes, yielded time during his opening statement to fellow Republican Representative Mike Conaway who read the call for Schiff’s resignation.
“‘We have no faith in your ability to discharge your duties in a manner consistent with your constitutional responsibility and urge your immediate resignation as chairman,’ Conaway read, accusing Schiff of having knowingly spread ‘false information.’”
The committee’s Republicans wrapped up their investigation a year ago, finding no collusion between Trump and Moscow to influence the vote. Democrats, led by Schiff, blasted the announcement as premature.
Journal of People 