Two weeks ago, it was revealed that a deceased Republican consultant had studied the citizenship question in Texas and concluded it would be “advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites”. The decennial census is conducted by volunteers going door-to-door and asking about family units, race, age and other information. “We must protect the integrity of the Census, and we must stand up for Congress’ authority under the Constitution to conduct meaningful oversight.”The justice department attacked the contempt vote in a statement by a spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec. The clash over the documents behind the census question echoes an episode from last month, when the House judiciary committee moved to hold Barr in contempt for the justice department’s refusal to turn over documents related to the Mueller report. The committee voted to hold Barr in contempt, but the two sides worked out a compromise before the matter could be finalized with a vote by the entire membership of the House.

Source: The Guardian June 13, 2019 01:07 UTC