Tag: House Oversight Committee

Nine White House officials of interest in Dem security clearance probe

Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee are zeroing in on a handful of current and former officials in President Trump‘s White House as part of their investigation into the administration’s security clearance practices.

Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) has ramped up the probe in recent weeks, accusing the White House of stonewalling his efforts to obtain additional documentation and information about the process.

He released a memo Monday detailing allegations raised by White House staffer Tricia Newbold, who has worked as a career official in the Executive Office of the President for 18 years.

View the complete April 1 article by Brett Samuels on The Hill website here.

White House staffer tells Oversight Committee of ‘grave’ concerns with security clearances

House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Monday released a memo detailing “grave” national security concerns raised by a White House staffer over the Trump administration’s security clearance process and announced plans to subpoena a former White House official as part of an ongoing investigation into security clearances.

The whistleblower, Tricia Newbold, participated in a transcribed interview with Democratic and Republican committee staff in late March “to expose grave and continuing failures of the White House security clearance system, including the security clearance adjudications of senior White House officials,” according to a memo detailing her accusations released by Cummings on Monday.

Among her allegations, Newbold told the committee that Trump administration officials overruled her and other career officials in more than two dozen instances in order to grant clearances to officials and contractors despite there being “disqualifying issues” in their backgrounds.

View the complete April 1 article by Morgan Chalfant and Olivia Beavers on The Hill website here.

Elijah Cummings: The White House hasn’t turned over a single piece of paper to my committee

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.

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.

View the complete March 19 commentary by Elijah E. Cummings on The Washington Post website here.

Jim Jordan seeks to block increased funds for Oversight panel he helps lead

Chairman Elijah Cummings wants to rebuild staffing, but his GOP counterpart does not

As House Democrats ramp up their oversight investigations into President Donald Trump’s administration, businesses, and 2016 campaign, at least one Republican has found a new battleground to push back: funding for the House Oversight and Reform Committee.

That panel’s chairman, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland, asked the House Administration Committee on Tuesday for a funding increase of 4 percent this year and 10 percent next year over funding levels from the previous, GOP-controlled 115th Congress.

But Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the Oversight panel, opposed Cummings’ budget request, citing the national debt and criticizing Democratic committee members’ investigative priorities. The Oversight panel — which is investigating the Trump administration’s security clearance policy and the president’s potential conflicts of interest stemming from his businesses, among other threads of inquiry — could use that extra funding to fill “essential” staff positions that Cummings asserted on Tuesday have “long been vacant.”

View the complete March 14 article by Katherine Tully-McManus and Griffin Connolly on The Roll Call website.

Michael Cohen to testify before House panel on Feb. 27

Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, will testify before the House Oversight Committee next week, the panel announced Wednesday night.

Cohen will testify at 10 a.m. on Feb. 27, the committee’s chairman, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), said in a statement.

“I am pleased to announce that Michael Cohen’s public testimony before the Oversight Committee is back on, despite efforts by some to intimidate his family members and prevent him from appearing,” Cummings said. “Congress has an obligation under the Constitution to conduct independent and robust oversight of the Executive Branch, and this hearing is one step in that process.”

View the complete February 20 article by Felicia Sonmez on The Washington Post website here.

House Oversight Probes Scott Pruitt’s Travel Expenses

The following article by Elvina Nawaguna was posted on the Roll Call website February 22, 2018:

EPA administrator has been under fire for first-class travel and luxury hotel stays

Kaster/AP Photo

As questions about the official travel habits of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt mount, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is demanding documents and other information on his first-class flights, as it looks into whether federal laws were broken.

Pruitt has for several months been under fire for incurring high travel costs at taxpayer expense. After recent news reports of Pruitt’s use of expensive first-class flights and stays at luxury hotels, an EPA spokesman said the administrator had been given a “blanket waiver” to fly first class for security reasons. Continue reading “House Oversight Probes Scott Pruitt’s Travel Expenses”

Gowdy Launches Oversight Investigation Into Rob Porter Scandal

The following article by Griffin Connolly was posted on the Roll Call website February 14, 2018:

‘How in the hell was he still employed?’ House Oversight Committee chairman asks

Rep Gowdy, R-SC, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, launched an investigation into the Rob Porter scandal Tuesday evening. Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call file photo

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has launched an investigation into the White House’s handling of senior aide Rob Porter, who was not issued a permanent security clearance due to allegations of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives.

“Who knew what, when, and to what extent? Those are the questions that I think ought to be asked,” the committee’s chairman, Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, said Wednesday on CNN. Continue reading “Gowdy Launches Oversight Investigation Into Rob Porter Scandal”