As Trump's corruption gets worse, some Democrats want a tougher response
The big revelations of the moment the reports that Russia may have paid bounties for the killing of U.S. troops, and the news that a U.S. attorney was ousted after investigating Trump cronies are a reminder that Trump has found a gaping hole in our system.
If a president refuses to cooperate with congressional oversight in just about every conceivable way and if that president has the near-total backing of a party that controls one chamber of Congress any such scrutiny can basically be ground to a halt, with no repercussions.
But a group of House Democrats is now calling on its chamber to get a lot tougher in this regard.
This group of Democrats which is led by Rep. Ted Lieu of California and includes other high-profile lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee is introducing a resolution Monday that, if successful, would dramatically increase the Houses ability to compel compliance with oversight.
This resolution would create a new, modernized mechanism by which the House could seek to levy stiff fines on officials who defy subpoenas for testimony or documents. It would in effect bring into the 21st century a power that Congress has used only rarely in the past the power to enforce its own subpoenas.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/06/29/trumps-corruption-gets-worse-some-democrats-want-tougher-response/
drray23
(7,616 posts)what in the world were they waiting for if that was an option ? It would have been a game changer during the impeachment investigation.
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)PSPS
(13,579 posts)Fines are meaningless tools. The crooks are on the pad and have access to unlimited funds. We have ample evidence that such penalties are meaningless in the corporate world. The only effective tool is one that takes away the person's liberty (i.e., actual jail.)