House Judiciary chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said on Wednesday night that his committee is weighing whether to issue a subpoena to Attorney General Bill Barr to testify on the Justice Department’s “outrageous” decision to drop the criminal case of President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
The New York Democrat said his committee was considering several means of pressuring Barr into testifying, such as serving him a subpoena or slashing congressional funding to the DOJ and the attorney general’s office.
“We’re prepared to do whatever we have to do,” the lawmaker said.
OK, that’s good. I hope they actually do it, soon-ish.
Yeah. Big whoop. Subpoenas are optional for this gang but I guess he’s trying.
Gotta’ cast a line to catch anything.
Casting lets them know you’re fishing.
I generally like Nadler but, frankly, he’s starting to sound like Susan Collins (R-Concerned) with this subpoena talk and ‘whatever we need to do’. When is the last time anyone in this administration actually responded to a subpoena. And what exactly do you mean by ‘whatever we need to do.’? Hold back funding? Don’t make me laugh, the Republicans would have a field day with that.
I know what you are saying, but what would you have him do?
Do, or do not. There is no “prepare.”
Agreed.
Granted, Nadler is tossing very small rocks.
It’s ‘how’ the process works. We can’t abandon processes, if we ever hope to return them to usefulness.
The headline would have made me feel better if it read: Nadler issues subpoena to Barr on Flynn dismissal.
Sadly, even though there is good reason to hold back the funding, since it really only goes to corporations and the 1% anyway, it won’t do any good, because it’s not the actual Republicans who would have a field day with it, it is the Mainstream Media. And the argument will be that the DEMS are the partisans… what a crock of shit.
Nadler senses that Team Trump is weakening.
See: Judge Sullivan, Dr. Bright
This is interesting and the comments of nothing will happen? Wow. At least this is SOMETHING. Yes, the Republicans do not care about courts or laws or funding but EVERY SINGLE TIME when this happens we show they don’t care. The House does what it can and the Senate squashes it. We SHOW that. There will always be deplorables, FOX ‘news’ will pretend the dastardly Dems are doing something but PEOPLE, actual voters are beginning to see what happens with a WH who thinks he’s a dictator, an AG that doesn’t actually care about the rule of law and a Majority Leader that laughs at bipartisanship. What is it you expect???
The biggest weapon the Congress has is the power of the purse. Without it the Congress is just a collection of ineffective politicians. In the old days administrations used to fear that power. That fear has been diminished since the 50s. Judging by your post it is really in the shadows now, but yes removing funding should be a big damn deal.
Correct. I was talking about Republicans in the broadest sense.
And, given the hay-day Republican campaigns would have with it, a pyrrhic victory.
Act.
Now that he’s prepared to.
Anything is better than complicity.
And yes, I do agree with you that Barr is still not going to follow the rules.
I agree, but the comparison to Susan Collins and her faux concern doesn’t hold. Susan Collins consistently voiced “concern” over Trump/Repub intentions, but when it came time to vote, her so-called concern vanished. Her ‘concern’ is window dressing, i.e. cover for her to vote in Trump/Repub lockstep.
Not since the Supremes let trump steal money for his wall when Congress hadn’t appropriated it.
He’ll just take money from somewhere else and fund DOJ to spite Congress.
Sometimes you have to put on your big boy pants and do something dramatic.
Excellent response.