On Monday, one of Donald Trump’s most vocal critics in the House of Representatives pledged to aggressively investigate the president if Democrats take control of the House after next week’s midterm elections.
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said in an interview that as a new majority his party would have the responsibility to use the powers of oversight given to Congress by the U.S. Constitution. And he said that they will plan massive investigations into all aspects of the Trump presidency as well as Donald Trump’s personal behavior.
“When the Framers designed the Constitution, they wanted checks and balances, and if Democrats took back the House, we would be able to exercise oversight over the executive branch the way the Framers intended,” Lieu, who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, said in the interview.
“We would be able to get Donald Trump’s tax returns to see if he’s being influenced by foreign entities,” said Lieu, who has frequently criticized the president on social media.
“We can call in the Secretary of Homeland Security to ask her why she still has hundreds of children she has not reunited that she ripped away from parents at the border. There are a lot of things that we can do with our oversight responsibility,” he added. “And we plan to look into everything.”
Here is a typical Lieu tweet criticizing Donald Trump:
Dear @realDonaldTrump: What I see a lot is the news simply showing your own tweets, your strange press conferences, and your own statements at your toxic rallies. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Or watched one of your hateful rallies?
Some self reflection would be nice. https://t.co/Epm5zo1nq9
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) October 29, 2018
Democrats are currently favored to take control of the House after the November 6 midterms. Dozens of seats currently held by Republicans are considered toss-ups or leaning toward Democrats. Not only that but there are over 40 open seats, and the generic congressional ballot heavily favors the Democrats also, as shown in recent polls.
Earlier in October House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) also said that his committee would investigate the Trump administration if they win the House.
“I want to look at what President Trump has done, aided and abetted by the Republicans in Congress, to tear down the foundations of our democracy,” Cummings said. Since he is likely to become chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee if and when Democrats take back the House, Cummings will be in a position to investigate not only Donald Trump but all members of his administration as well.
Two weeks ago Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) said that he wants to investigate the allegation that Trump laundered money for Russia if Democrats win control of the House. In a Democratically controlled House Schiff would become chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, replacing Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA). Schiff has also vowed to re-open the Russia investigation that was closed down by Nunes.
The Congressman who is in line to be the next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) promised earlier in October that Democrats will also open an investigation into Brett Kavanaugh if they win back the House.
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