House Republicans are leaning into their investigations this week, holding a key vote and a high-profile hearing as they seek to strike to contrast the ongoing legal complications surrounding former President Trump.
The lower house is expected to vote on convicting Attorney General Merrick Garland of contempt of Congress, while Republicans spar with the Justice Department over audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. Two panels introduced contempt resolutions last month, but the vote was delayed because it was unclear whether Republicans had enough support to penalize the law’s top enforcer.
Also this week, the House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing at the Manhattan district attorney’s office following former President Trump’s conviction in the secret New York trial. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — whose presence was requested — however, was unable to attend a hearing that day, leaving the path forward uncertain for the GOP-led panel.
On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is expected to vote on a bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization, the Democrats’ latest move to highlight women’s reproductive rights ahead of the November elections.
And former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is scheduled to appear before a House panel behind closed doors this week to testify about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Empire State.
House to vote on holding Garland in contempt
The House is expected to hold a vote this week on whether to detain Garland for contempt of Congress, nearly a month after two GOP-led committees advanced the punishment.
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to consider a resolution to hold Garland liable for contempt on Tuesday at noon. If this progresses, which is expected, the next stop would be the Chamber plenary for a vote by the entire Chamber.
This week’s vote will mark the culmination of a months-long push by House Republicans to gain access to audio recordings of Biden’s interviews with special counsel Robert Hur.
Republicans already have the transcript of Biden’s conversation with Hur, but are seeking the audio recordings after the special counsel said the president presented himself as “a friendly, well-intentioned elderly man with a poor memory.” The president claimed executive privilege over the audio recordings.
The House Judiciary and Oversight Committees advanced resolutions to hold Garland in contempt of Congress last month, but Republican leadership delayed scheduling a House floor vote for weeks amid uncertainty over whether or not there was enough support to penalize the attorney general.
At least two Republicans said privately they planned to vote against the resolution, a worrying sign for Republican leaders and their slim majority. This week, however, GOP lawmakers are preparing to dive into the vote.
“If Merrick Garland continues to refuse to comply with Congressional subpoenas and deny American citizens the transparency and information they deserve to determine the truth, he will face the consequences,” wrote House Majority Leader Steve Scalise ( R-La.), on a lookout. on Sunday.
The vote comes as House Republicans struggle to find a smoking gun in their ongoing impeachment investigation into Biden.
Republican Party analyzes Bragg’s testimony
The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Thursday at the Manhattan district attorney’s office — following Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts last month — but it remains unclear how the panel will proceed after the office of the district attorney said the date requested by the Republican Party was not feasible for Bragg.
“Everything is on the table as to what comes next,” committee spokesman Russell Dye told The Hill.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) demanded that Bragg and another prosecutor testify on June 13 – Thursday – shortly after a 12-person jury found Trump guilty of falsifying business records in the case centered in a secret $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
On Friday, Leslie B. Dubeck, general counsel for the Manhattan district attorney, said the office was willing to cooperate with the committee, but noted that it should occur after Trump’s July 11 sentencing. not work for the public prosecutor.
“This Office is committed to voluntary cooperation,” Dubeck wrote. “This cooperation includes making the District Attorney available to testify on behalf of the Office on an agreed-upon date and evaluating the appropriateness of allowing an Assistant District Attorney to testify publicly about an active prosecution to which he or she is assigned.
“The District Attorney’s Office therefore requests an opportunity to engage with Committee staff to identify a new hearing date and to better understand the scope and purpose of the proposed hearing,” she added.
Thursday’s hearing is one of many examples of House Republicans targeting individuals investigating Trump. Earlier this month, Jordan wrote a letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) asking that his panel include a series of “reforms” to the government funding process this year, including banning of funding for the FBI “that is not essential to the agency carrying out its mission” and eliminating federal funding for “state prosecutors or state attorneys general involved in legal conflicts.”
Senate will approve in vitro fertilization project
The Senate is expected to vote this week on a bill to protect access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), the latest attempt by Democrats to put the issue of women’s reproductive rights on the record with Republicans.
The legislation – led by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) – would establish a national right to IVF and other assisted reproductive technologies, as well as reduce the costs of IVF treatment to make it more affordable.
The issue of access to in vitro fertilization gained prominence after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that embryos are children and therefore protected under the state’s wrongful death law. In March, the state enacted a bill protecting IVF providers from the controversial ruling.
The court’s decision shocked the nation and shook the political world, with Republicans determining how best to react to the opinion. Many GOP lawmakers have said they support in vitro fertilization.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he is preparing the vote to show Americans where lawmakers stand on the issue of reproductive rights, which has emerged as a hot topic among voters after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v.
“Americans can once again see where Republicans stand on the very important issue of reproductive rights,” he said at a press conference last week.
The IVF vote is the second Schumer has held on reproductive rights this month. Last week, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have created a federal right to birth control.
Cuomo will testify about COVID-19 behind closed doors
Cuomo — who served as governor of New York from 2011 until his resignation in 2021 — is scheduled for a transcribed interview before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic on Tuesday.
The panel said lawmakers will ask Cuomo “to explain the circumstances surrounding his issuance of the deadly ‘admission mandate’ guidance for COVID-19 nursing homes in New York.”
“His testimony is crucial to uncovering the circumstances that led to his misguided policies and to ensuring that fatal mistakes never happen again,” Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio), the panel’s chairman, said in a statement last week. It’s past time for Cuomo to stop shirking responsibility to Congress and start responding honestly to the American people.”
The transcribed interview comes after the panel issued a subpoena to Cuomo in March, expressing interest in investigating his handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
The testimony comes a week after Anthony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, testified before the panel during a heated hearing.
Cuomo announced in August 2021 that he was resigning from his top job in New York after state Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report that detailed allegations of sexual harassment against the then-governor. He has also faced criticism from some for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
