Bummer: Elijah Cummings Whines About White House Not Turning Over Witch Hunt Material

Elijah E. Cummings (Democrat Maryland) is the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and a massive whiner infused with Trump Derangement Syndrome, but he’s Very Upset that the White House is refusing to cooperate with its Very Important Investigations, as he is given a perch in the Washington Post opinion pages

In November, the American people voted overwhelmingly to put Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives to start serving as a truly independent check and balance on the executive branch. Since then, President Trump and his allies have complained of “Presidential Harassment,” decrying Democrats for having the audacity to request documents and witnesses to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities.

See? Must be Very Important Stuff!

The problem is that the White House is engaged in an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction.

I serve as chairman of the Oversight and Reform Committee, the primary investigative body in the House of Representatives. I have sent 12 letters to the White House on a half-dozen topics — some routine and some relating to our core national security interests. In response, the White House has refused to hand over any documents or produce any witnesses for interviews.

Let me underscore that point: The White House has not turned over a single piece of paper to our committee or made a single official available for testimony during the 116th Congress.

ZOMG!

One of the most important investigations we are conducting is a review of White House security clearances. The White House argues that Congress is not entitled to any information about individual employees, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying about his communications with the Russians; current national security adviser John Bolton, who worked directly with the gun rights group founded by now-convicted Russian spy Maria Butina; or the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who was reportedly given access to our nation’s most sensitive secrets over the objections of then-White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly and others.

We are also examining the president’s “hush money” payments to silence women alleging affairs before the election, as well as the president’s failure to divulge these payments on his financial disclosure forms, as required by federal law. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen provided copies of reimbursement checks signed long after Trump became president during our hearing with him, but the White House has refused to turn over any of the documents we requested. Instead, officials let us read 30 pages, about half of which were already public or entirely blacked out.

He has more, but, really, the majority of what he wants is simply Trump Derangement Syndrome and personal. It has little to do with what is happening in the Executive Branch, and much has to do with the runup to Trump winning the election.

The White House has also refused to produce any documents or witnesses in response to our other investigations, including White House officials’ alleged use of personal email in violation of federal law; ..

Remember when Team Obama was slow-walking and even refusing to release any information on their own use of private emails, some of which used aliases designed to circumvent the law, and Democrats in Congress did all they could to protect them, as did the Washington Post? Remember how the same people protected Hillary Clinton, and wanted no investigations of her?

Similarly, the Obama White House produced many documents and emails relating to the Solyndra controversy, as well as witnesses and documents regarding the Benghazi, Libya, attacks, including communication between top White House officials and National Security Council staff.

Remember how they slow walked these same incidents, claimed executive privilege, and refused to release some documents as well as make Executive Department employees available? Then we get to things like Operation Fast and Furious, Loretta Lynch meeting Bill Clinton, and so much more.

Cummings can yammer on about it being a Constitutional responsibility all he wants, but this is not oversight, it’s hardcore personal political attacks. When Trump complains about there being witch hunts, what Cummings is doing is the definition.