The House will vote next Tuesday on whether to hold Attorney General William P. Barr and former White House counsel Donald McGahn in contempt, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) announced.
"This Administration's systematic refusal to provide Congress with answers and cooperate with Congressional subpoenas is the biggest cover-up in American history, and Congress has a responsibility to provide oversight on behalf of the American people," Hoyer said in a statement Monday night.
The announcement comes amid rising frustration among Democrats at what they view as stonewalling by the White House. It also comes on the same day that Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said his panel will vote on whether to hold Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt for failing to comply with a bipartisan subpoena for documents on a Trump administration plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines last month to hold Barr in contempt over his failure to produce the full contents of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report to Congress — something Barr has argued he cannot do without breaking the law, as releasing grand jury material would require a court order.
The panel also issued a subpoena for McGahn to deliver documents and testimony regarding what he knew about President Trump's alleged efforts to obstruct justice. The White House blocked McGahn, who was a key witness in Mueller's report, from testifying.
Hoyer's resolution "will authorize the Judiciary Committee to pursue civil action to seek enforcement of its subpoenas in federal court," the Maryland Democrat said.
"It also authorizes House Committees that have issued subpoenas as part of their oversight and investigation responsibilities to seek civil enforcement of those subpoenas when they are ignored," he said.
Felicia Sonmez is a Washington Post national political reporter covering breaking news from the White House, Congress and the campaign trail.
June 3, 2019
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June 4, 2019
Voices4America Post Script. The time of reckoning is coming. This is a chance for our House Elected Officials to stand for the rule of law. #HoldBarrInContempt #HoldRossInContempt Travel the road toward #ImpeachmentNow