House Republicans Build a Wall Around Trump’s Likely Conflicts of Interest
Feb. 27, 2017
House Republicans Build a Wall Around Trump’s Likely Conflicts of Interest
Congressional Republicans Set to Kill Nadler’s Disclosure Resolution
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Republican majority on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is set to kill a “resolution of inquiry” by U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) calling on the U.S. Justice Department to turn over all information related to its counterintelligence investigation of President Donald Trump and his associates’ ties to Russia and ethics violations. Public Citizen predicts that the GOP will kill the resolution and condemns this ongoing congressional Republican effort to cover up conflicts of interest in the Trump administration.
“Donald Trump’s global business empire poses unprecedented conflicts of interest between his business interests and the public interest of our country,” said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “These conflicts tread into counterintelligence concerns, and so both Congress and the public need to know the potential dangers.”
Nadler introduced a special “resolution of inquiry” permitted under House rules that demands transparency of any U.S. Department of Justice investigation of a potential counterintelligence breach. The House Judiciary Committee has 14 legislative days to address the resolution or it goes straight to the floor for debate and a vote of the full House. Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) scheduled a committee vote Tuesday to bury the Nadler resolution.
“All we are asking for is transparency,” said Lisa Gilbert, director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “It is the duty of Congress to oversee and ensure that Trump’s conflicts of interest pose no meaningful threat to the integrity of our government.”
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the Nadler resolution on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at 2141 Rayburn House Office Building. Public Citizen along with several other civic groups are submitting a citizen petition calling for the committee to let the Nadler resolution stand. We encourage the public to attend the committee hearing.
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