NEW - House Oversight Committee issues subpoena to Wilbur Ross re: Census!

[Roland99]

Link to tweet

#BREAKING:
@OversightDems
announce they have issued a subpoena to Commerce Secy Wilbur Ross. They are seeking internal memos related to the Census. The letter: https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2020-12-10.CBM%20to%20Ross-DOC%20re%20Subpoena.pdf

Background: https://courthousenews.com/census-officials-skip-oversight-hearing-after-data-leak-points-to-delays/?amp=1
@CourthouseNews

letter:
https://oversight.house.gov/sites/democrats.oversight.house.gov/files/2020-12-10.CBM%20to%20Ross-DOC%20re%20Subpoena.pdf

Dear Secretary Ross:
For the reasons set forth below, the Committee issued a subpoena today compelling you
to produce all of the documents first requested by the Committee last month relating to grave
data problems with the 2020 Census and the delays these problems have caused. The subpoena
requires you to produce a full and unredacted set of these documents by December 21, 2020.
This is not the first congressional subpoena you have received relating to your execution
of the 2020 Census. As you know, in July 2019, the House of Representatives held you in
contempt for refusing to produce documents revealing the real reason that you tried to add a
citizenship question to the Census—an effort the Supreme Court ruled was illegal and based on a
pretext.1

As you conclude your term as Secretary of Commerce, I urge you to depart your position
on a more cooperative and constructive note. You may have little personal regard for your own
ignominious legacy as Secretary of Commerce, but a complete and accurate census is critical for
the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of American families in red states and blue
states alike. They do not want political machinations to jeopardize their fair representation in
Congress and their share of $1.5 trillion in federal funds over the next decade for programs that
provide healthcare, education, job training, transportation, and many other services.
On March 14, 2019, you appeared before the Committee and testified under oath: “The
Department of Commerce is fully committed to administering as complete and accurate a
decennial census as we can.”2
The Committee now urges you to fulfill this solemn commitment.

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Previous Refusal to Produce Documents on Census Problems and Delays
On November 19, 2020, the New York Times reported that “Census Bureau officials have
concluded that they cannot produce the state population totals required to reallocate seats in the
House of Representatives until after President Trump leaves office in January.” The report
added: “the Census Bureau told the Commerce Department that a growing number of snags in
the massive data-processing operation that generates population totals had delayed the
completion of population calculations at least until Jan. 26, and perhaps to mid-February.”3
After the story became public, the Census Bureau Director, Dr. Steven Dillingham,
issued a statement confirming that “anomalies have been discovered” during data processing, but
he provided few details.4
Since none of these problems had been reported to the Committee, I sent a letter to the
Census Bureau on November 19, 2020, seeking documents relating to these anomalies, the
predicted delays they would cause, and their potential impact on the accuracy of the Census
count. The letter asked for these documents by November 24, 2020.5
No documents were provided to the Committee in response to this letter. On November
24, 2020—the date the documents were due—Committee staff received a bipartisan telephone
briefing from Director Dillingham and other top Census Bureau officials. These officials
reported that documents responsive to the Committee’s request had been submitted to your
General Counsel at the Department of Commerce, but had not been cleared for release due to
“concerns about ongoing litigation.” When asked whether the Bureau had an expected date by
which production might be possible, the officials could not provide one.
Demand for Documents After Committee Obtained New Internal Records
On December 2, 2020, I sent a letter requesting that you immediately cease your efforts
to obstruct the Committee’s investigation and produce the documents requested by the
Committee on November 19, 2020.
6


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In my letter, I explained that the existence of separate litigation is not a valid reason to
withhold documents from Congress.7
The Constitution provides Congress with the
responsibility to conduct oversight of, and to pass laws relating to, the Census, and the
Committee has authority that is separate and independent from any litigation being pursued in
civil courts.8
I noted that the Department’s insistence on withholding documents due to
“ongoing litigation” raises questions about whether the Administration is seeking to conceal
information not only from Congress, but from the Judiciary. As you know, the Supreme Court
heard oral arguments on November 30, 2020, in a challenge to President Trump’s order to
exclude undocumented immigrants from the Census count.9
In my letter, I also explained that, despite the Trump Administration’s efforts to withhold
documents sought by the Committee, we obtained three internal documents from another source
that not only confirm reports that the Census Bureau will take several additional weeks to resolve
data anomalies and produce an accurate count as required by the Constitution, but also indicate
that these anomalies are more serious than first reported. These three documents are:
• A November 19, 2020, presentation for senior Census Bureau officials, describing
13 anomalies that impact more than 900,000 census records, warning that
addressing these data anomalies “impacts overall end date by 20 days,” and
anticipating that the population count will not be complete until between January
26, 2021, and February 6, 2021.10
• A document providing an update on data anomalies one week later—as of
November 27, 2020—showing that, since the first document was produced, career


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officials identified two additional errors, including one that impacts more than
240,000 records and risks causing a “significant overcount” in certain areas.11
• A document setting forth an updated schedule as of the same date, November 27,
2020, showing that career officials will deliver the “Final Apportionment
Transmittal Package” to the Department of Commerce on January 23, 2020, and
that the “Apportionment Counts” will be sent to the President on the same day.12
In response to the Committee’s release of these internal documents, the Trump
Administration sought to cast doubt on their accuracy. On December 2, 2020, the same day the
Committee sent its letter to you, the Administration issued the following public statement:
Internal tracking documents would not convey the uncertainty around projected dates and
may fail to reflect the additional resources employed to correct data anomalies. The
anomalies affect less than seven-tenths of one percent of records and are being resolved
as expeditiously as possible.13
In order to obtain accurate information about these anomalies and resulting delays, I
asked you to produce all of the documents requested by the Committee, which include but are
not limited to documents prepared for you, Director Dillingham, or other Trump Administration
officials regarding data processing anomalies, data accuracy, or potential delays, including
briefings on November 18 or 19, 2020. I asked you to produce a complete and unredacted set of
these documents by yesterday, December 9, 2020, or inform us whether the Committee should
instead issue a subpoena to compel their production.
Document Productions Are Woefully Inadequate
Although you have now made two document productions to the Committee, they are
woefully inadequate, fail to provide even the most basic documents requested by the Committee
about the recent anomalies and their resulting delays, and instead includes reams of nonresponsive and outdated documents.
On December 3, 2020, and on December 9, 2020, your office produced 1,772 and 3,800
pages, respectively, writing that the productions were made “pursuant to the Committee’s
November 19, 2020 letter to Census Bureau Director Dillingham, and its December 2, 2020


.......................


letter to Secretary Ross.”14 However, the documents in your productions are insufficient and not
responsive to the request. For example:
• The productions include an official copy of only one of the three internal Census
Bureau documents described in the Committee’s letter to you on December 2,
2020.
• The productions do not include any additional documents regarding the anomalies
identified on or after November 19, 2020, or the delays they are causing, which
are the primary areas of focus for the Committee’s inquiry.
• The productions do not include any documents relating to additional anomalies
identified by Census Bureau experts since the Committee first requested
information on these topics, despite recent press reports that significant additional
problems have been discovered.
• Instead, the productions include hundreds of pages of documents from well before
any of these anomalies were identified, including some documents dating as far
back as 2012 and other documents from June and July 2020—before the Trump
Administration announced that it was slashing the schedule for field operations
and data processing in half.
• Finally, the productions include extensive redactions of information directly prior
to November 19, 2020, when reports of the anomalies first became public. For
example, one document includes redactions of entire columns of information,
such as “Previous Status” and “Status,” obscuring information relating to
delays.15
New Reports Show Even More Problems and Delays
On December 4, 2020, the New York Times reported that the Census Bureau has now
identified additional problems that will delay the delivery of Census data even further. The
report warns:
Census Bureau experts have uncovered serious flaws in a section of the 2020 head count
that potentially affect the enumeration of millions, according to people familiar with the


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census operations, delaying still further the completion of state-by-state population totals
that the White House has demanded before President Trump leaves office next month.16
Yet again, neither you nor the Census Bureau informed the Committee about these latest
problems before they appeared in the press. This report continues:
Census experts told the Trump administration last month that data-processing delays
were making it impossible to meet that schedule, but the agency’s political appointees
have continued to press for shortcuts in an attempt to deliver on the White House’s
demand. On Friday, people involved with the census but not authorized to make official
comments said the latest delay—adding 10 to 14 more days to a process that was already
set to end well beyond the Dec. 31 statutory deadline—appeared to doom that last-ditch
rush.
The extent of the additional problems—relating to the count of residents of group
quarters like prisons, college dormitories or homeless shelters—effectively means that
“that isn’t going to happen,” one official, who declined to be named for fear of
retribution, said of meeting the deadline.17
Your recent production to the Committee included no documents relating to these
additional data problems, and your office’s cover letter transmitting the documents included no
indication whatsoever that these new problems have been identified.
Trump Administration Also Withholding Census Documents from GAO
In addition to withholding documents from the Committee, your office is also blocking
the production of documents to Congress’ independent investigative arm, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO). On December 3, 2020, the Committee held a hearing on
“Ensuring the 2020 Census Count is Complete and Accurate.” During that hearing, J. Chris
Mihm, the Managing Director of Strategic Issues Team at GAO, testified that GAO has
requested a host of information from the Census Bureau, but that the Department of Commerce
is withholding these documents from GAO. He stated: “We have asked them for quite a bit of
documentation. We haven’t received it yet.”18
GAO has explained to the Committee that some of its requests date back to August 5,
2020. GAO provided a list of these requests, and they include documents relating to anomalies
the Census Bureau has identified, the schedule for data collection and processing, and the risks
associated with truncating or rushing that schedule.


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Issuance of Subpoena

Article I of the Constitution gives Congress sweeping power to carry out the Census “in
such manner as they shall by law direct.”19 The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the
principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and has broad authority to
investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X, and the Committee has jurisdiction
over “Population and demography generally, including the Census.”20

One of the Committee’s primary responsibilities is to ensure that the 2020 Census is
accurate, is complete, and meets the fundamental requirements set forth in the Constitution. In
addition, the Committee is responsible for legislation governing the execution of this and future
Censuses, including but not limited to requirements for reporting operational changes, ensuring
the accuracy of data, collecting and processing complete data, and disclosing when actions by
political appointees or third parties may contradict the advice of career staff.21

Your approach to Congress’ oversight responsibilities has been abominable. You have
repeatedly withheld documents that should have been produced as a matter of course to your
Department’s oversight committee. You have withheld them not only from Congress, but from
the independent Government Accountability Office and, according to Census Bureau officials,
the federal Judiciary as well. You also have repeatedly failed to inform the Committee on a
timely basis of grave problems with the Census, forcing us time and time again to read about
them in the press rather than from the agency you lead.

Based on this record, it appears that you are intentionally seeking to obstruct the
Constitutional function of Congress as it relates to the 2020 Census. By blocking the production
of documents requested by the Committee, you and others in the Trump Administration are
preventing Congress from verifying the scope of these anomalies, their impact on the accuracy of
the Census, and the time that professionals at the Census Bureau need to fix them.

For all of the reasons described above, the Committee issued a subpoena today
compelling you to produce all of the documents first requested by the Committee last month.
The subpoena, which was shared with the Ranking Member more than 48 hours ago, requires
you to produce a full and unredacted set of these documents by December 21, 2020.

[rso]

1. Ross

Good, and after Jan. 20, there will be a DOJ that will actually enforce Congressional subpoenas.

[Budi]

2. Look for Wilbur to ask Trump what one of those 'forever pardons' will cost him

What exactly does one have to do, Mr Prez?