Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) went after his Republican colleagues who traveled to New York City to attend former President Trump’s criminal trial this week.
The California Democrat took this specifically to his colleagues who skipped a hearing Thursday on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt and instead attended Trump’s trial.
“Well, it’s good to see that some of my colleagues on the other side manage to survive today. I don’t know if that means there weren’t enough seats in the New York courtroom,” Swalwell said at the hearing. “But I know that the Oversight Committee canceled the meeting that was supposed to take place now on the same issue so that they could attend the president’s trial.”
“Some members will miss this vote because they want to be at the president’s trial, and I don’t think anything could liven up the phrase ‘Congress doing nothing’ more than missing votes and canceling hearings to go up and be a spectator at his trial of the cult leader ,” he continued. “That’s the definition of ‘Congress doing nothing.’”
A steady stream of Republican politicians traveled from Washington to New York City to visit Trump at the trial. The former president is accused of falsifying business records in connection with an alleged hush money scheme to cover up past affairs shortly before the 2016 elections.
At least nine Republicans made the trip Thursday. Reps. Matt Gaetz (Florida), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Mike Waltz (Florida) and Eli Crane (Ariz.) were seen in court, while Reps. Andy Ogles (Tenn.) Anna Paulina Luna (Florida), Ralph Norman (SC) and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (Virginia) were also seen at the Manhattan courthouse.
Gaetz and Biggs are members of the Judiciary Committee and missed Thursday’s hearing.
The Judiciary held Garland in contempt on a party-line vote of 18 to 15, alleging that the attorney general defied a subpoena to produce a recording of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur.
A last-minute decision by Biden to assert executive privilege over audio recordings of his interview did not dissuade the Republican Party from proceeding, even as Garland said those who assert the privilege “cannot be prosecuted for criminal contempt of Congress.” .
The Oversight Committee is also expected to hold Garland in contempt at a hearing Thursday night. The hearing was scheduled for later in the day to give lawmakers time to return from New York, a source confirmed to The Hill.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
