If you thought the past two years of inquiries into possible misbehavior by Trumpworld were brutal, brace yourself. Phase 2 is about to heat up. On Monday, the Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee announced a wide-ranging inquiry into “the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power by President Trump, his associates and members of his administration.”Citing two years of “near-daily attacks on our basic legal, ethical and constitutional rules and norms” by the president, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, the committee’s chairman, asserted that, while it was important to respect the continuing criminal investigations, Congress “cannot rely on others to do the investigative work for us.” With Republican lawmakers having abdicated their oversight duties when they controlled the House, Mr. Nadler said, Democrats must now “begin building the public record.”As its opening move, Mr. Nadler’s committee has sent requests for documents to 81 individuals and entities associated with Mr. Trump, including Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Jared Kushner, Jeff Sessions, Hope Hicks, Paul Manafort, Steve Bannon and Roger Stone. The now-defunct Trump Foundation is on the list, as is the Trump Organization, the Trump campaign, the White House and the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee. Also, David Pecker, the president’s close friend and chairman of the parent company of The National Enquirer.

Source: New York Times March 05, 2019 00:33 UTC