House of Representatives: Democrats in da house!

[GreyhoundFan]

"Trump Organization asks House committee to cease investigations, citing an alleged conflict of interest"

Spoiler

A lawyer for the Trump Organization has asked the House Judiciary Committee to cease any investigations related to it, claiming that the panel’s work has been tainted by its hiring of an outside lawyer whose firm has represented Trump’s company.

In a letter Monday to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Trump Organization lawyer Alan S. Futerfas objected to the committee’s hiring of Berry H. Berke on the grounds that his law firm, Kramer Levin, has represented the Trump Organization on an array of issues.

“This state of affairs violates recognized ethical obligations and irreparably taints the Committee’s work,” Futerfas wrote, adding that it “requires that the Committee cease and desist from any and all activities that are adverse to the Company.”

Futerfas raised similar concerns in a letter last week to House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), saying that his panel works closely with Nadler’s committee.

Nadler announced Berke’s hiring two weeks ago, calling him “a nationally prominent expert on federal criminal law, including public corruption.”

Nadler said Berke and another outside lawyer, Norm Eisen, would assist the committee as it investigates a president facing “numerous allegations of corruption and obstruction.”

In his letter, Futerfas asks that Berke be terminated and for Nadler to turn over Berke’s correspondence with the committee.

A spokesman for Nadler did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In a statement, Kramer Levin called the Trump Organization’s letter to Nadler “baseless” and said Berke’s consulting work for the Judiciary Committee “complies fully with all applicable ethical rules, does not pose any conflicts of interest and respects any obligations the firm may have.”

“Mr. Berke’s work for the Committee is in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the firm, which will receive no compensation for Mr. Berke’s services or provide any legal or other support,” the statement said.

The firm also said that none of the work it has done for Trump’s companies is related to the work Berke will be doing for the committee and that no lawyer at the firm is working on any “Trump-affiliated matter.”

“By performing public service, our partner is following in the finest traditions of the legal profession,” the statement said.

 

[AmazonGrace]

Please nail Kirstjen Goebbels

[fraurosena]

These new reps are killing it in the House. 

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

Apparently Weisselberg and others that Cohen mentioned by name can expect an invite in the House

 

[fraurosena]

Praise Rufus! Please let them be public hearings...

House Oversight seeks interviews with Ivanka Trump, Don Jr.

Quote

The House Oversight Committee will pursue interviews with some of President Donald Trump's children and closest allies who were implicated in Michael Cohen’s bombshell testimony before the panel, Chairman Elijah Cummings said Thursday.

“All you have to do is follow the transcript. If there are names that were mentioned or records that were mentioned during the hearing, we want to take a look at all of that,” Cummings told reporters.

In his nearly six-hour appearance before the key House panel investigating the president and his business dealings, Cohen name-dropped several of Trump’s closest confidants and associates, including several of his adult children. After Wednesday’s hearing, Democrats said they were interested in speaking with Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump and Allen Weisselberg, the longtime chief financial officer of The Trump Organization.

“They have a good chance of hearing from us — at least an interview,” Cummings added. “We’ll go through it, we’ll figure out who we want to talk to, and we’ll bring them in.”

Cohen indicated to lawmakers on Wednesday that Trump Jr. had a role in the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, the adult-film actress who claims she had an affair with the president.

The president’s former attorney and fixer also said Trump Jr. knew more about the negotiations surrounding the Trump Tower Moscow project than Trump Jr. had led investigators to believe. He also said Ivanka Trump was briefed about the talks. Weisselberg was mentioned several times during the hearing, most notably when Cohen said the Trump Organization CFO signed one of the reimbursement checks for the hush-money payments and was involved in discussions about the scheme.

“They are people who can put meat on the flesh to what Michael Cohen offered. They are people who know intimately the details of the Trump personality and business,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a member of the Oversight Committee, said. “And I think it’s important to follow up on what Michael Cohen said with those people.”

Cummings said it’s possible that some of the information gleaned from Cohen’s testimony would fall under the purview of other House committees that have launched their own investigations into the president. He said the chairs of those committees — Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Ways and Means, Judiciary, and others — meet at least once a week to “try to figure out who’s doing what.”

Despite Cohen’s testimony, Democratic leaders remain wary of embracing calls to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump. Cummings declined to say whether Cohen’s testimony raises the specter of impeachment, insisting that his panel is simply gathering facts and evidence.

“I’m not there,” Cummings said, answering a question about impeachment. “I do find it interesting that there was not one Democrat that I remember who even mentioned the word ‘impeach.’ Nobody. Nobody.”

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

 

 

[Audrey2]

8 hours ago, fraurosena said:

Praise Rufus! Please let them be public hearings...

House Oversight seeks interviews with Ivanka Trump, Don Jr.

 

But even if the House interviews Ivanka and Don Jr. in hearings, private or public, I'm not sure that we will learn anything. I suspect it will go something like this:

HO: Is your Father Donald Trump?

I & DJ: I do not recall

HO: Was your father elected President of the United States?

I & DJ: I do not recall

HO: Does your Father, Donald Trump have a private residence in Trump Tower?

I & DJ: I do not recall

HO (becoming extremely exasperated) Is the sky blue?

I & DJ I do not recall

(HO= House Oversight, I & DJ= Ivanka and Donald Jr.)

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

Past time to subpoena the hell out of them

[47of74]

Ted for the win once again;

If I ever get invited to an event in a fuckhead owned property I'm going to remember and use that. 

[AmazonGrace]

Let Maxine Waters be Donald Trump's worst nightmare

https://www.politico.com/amp/story/2019/02/28/waters-investigation-trump-foundation-1229221 she might have a lead about the foundation

[AmazonGrace]

 

[AmazonGrace]

 

[fraurosena]

59 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

The GOP is disgusting. I saw this on Reddit, and it seems appropriate:

 

[AmazonGrace]

4 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

The GOP is disgusting. I saw this on Reddit, and it seems appropriate:

 

It seems whatever it was was removed?

[fraurosena]

1 minute ago, AmazonGrace said:

It seems whatever it was was removed?

That’s strange. I can see it just fine. I’m on my phone, maybe that’s why? 

This is the exchange:

white guy: 

Idc if you call me Islamophobic, because it’s true. Yes, I’m scared of Muslims. Never know if they have a bomb or not. I don’t make the rules.

muslim dude:

I know what you mean. I get really uncomfortable when I see a young white male like you walk into an elementary school or movie theatre.

[AmazonGrace]

Oh I tried it on my phone and I saw the image but on the computer I just get the link to reddit and it says the image was removed due to frequent reposting. Go figure.

[fraurosena]

1 hour ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

Don't know if they'll hold a hearing about them, but they are asking for his tax returns. 

House Democrats prepare case to request Trump tax returns

Quote

The top tax-writing committee in the House is readying a request for years of President Donald Trump’s personal tax returns that is expected to land at the Internal Revenue Service as early as the next few weeks, according to congressional aides involved in the process. And Democrats are prepared to "take all necessary steps," including litigation, in order to obtain them.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., has asked the committee’s attorneys to prepare the request, according to two aides involved in the process. Neal has also contacted the chairs of several other House investigative committees, including Oversight and Government Reform, Financial Services, Intelligence and Judiciary, asking them to provide detailed arguments for why they need the president’s tax returns to conduct their probes.

"Every day the American people and Congress learn more about President Trump’s improprieties, from conflicts of interest to influence peddling, potential tax evasion and violations of the Constitution — all roads leading back to President Trump’s finances," said Ashley Etienne, spokeswoman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"These improprieties, and the lack of transparency around them, give the House legitimate legislative, oversight and legal reasons to review the President’s tax returns. We will take all necessary steps, including litigation, if necessary, to obtain them." Etienne confirmed that the committees are working together to "ensure the House is able to present the strongest possible case."

Ways and Means is the only House committee with the authority to directly make the request for Trump’s returns. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, whose department has authority over the IRS, will decide whether or not to grant the request.

Neal had earlier said he might wait for the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the Trump campaign’s potential ties to Russia before making the request. The case to draw in multiple committee stakeholders was bolstered after Michael Cohen’s testimony before the House Oversight Committee earlier this week, the aides said.

There are several key pieces of information Cohen, Trump’s former personal “fixer” and attorney, provided in his testimony that strengthen the case for Congress to obtain the returns, according to the aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Among other things, Cohen testified that Trump, as head of the sprawling Trump Organization before his election in 2016, had at times deflated the value of his properties to lower his tax bill and called the government “stupid” for giving him a $10 million tax refund in 2008. Under questioning from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Cohen also said Trump had provided inflated assetsto an insurance company.

In a break with modern tradition, Trump has steadfastly refused to disclose his returns, suggesting they are under audit. Every U.S. president dating back to Richard Nixon has voluntarily disclosed his tax returns to the public.

The U.S. tax code authorizes the Ways and Means Committee to obtain any U.S. taxpayers’ returns. Yet committee lawyers are expected to craft a request as precise as possible, aides said, in order to short circuit an all-but-certain legal challenge by the president that could draw the process out.

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by fraurosena

[AmazonGrace]

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1101617017952628736?s=19 

[GreyhoundFan]