For 2305's future look at Congress.
- Click here for the article.
A change to House rules is putting sharper teeth into Democratic investigations of President Trump and his administration.
The change allows staff of House committees to conduct depositions without any lawmakers present, freeing up the panels to move through witnesses in their investigations quickly without the constraints of the previous Congress.
The change will offer Democrats on powerful House committees including Intelligence, Oversight and Reform, and Judiciary substantial momentum as they open wide-ranging probes into Trump, producing new headaches for the White House as the president readies his reelection bid.
“It’s more teeth, faster legs, longer breath, greater strength and just bigger,” said Steven Cash, a former staffer and counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee.
“The other thing it signals is this isn’t the political theater of the Benghazi hearings. They’re not really interested in what comes out on television. They want sworn testimony. That indicates to me they’re looking for facts and not show,” added Cash, who is now a lawyer at Day Pitney specializing in criminal and national security law.
A fight has been percolating between House Democrats and the president since the November midterm elections, when Democrats captured the majority in the lower chamber and took control of all of the oversight and investigative powers that come with it.
Now, Democrats are preparing expansive investigations into the Trump administration on everything from Russia’s election interference to the White House security clearance process to Trump’s own financial dealings.
Some elements of these investigations are likely to happen behind closed doors, in the form of private interviews with administration officials or others that are transcribed and under oath — often referred to as a deposition.
In the previous Republican-led Congress, House committees were permitted to conduct depositions, but the chamber’s rules required that at least one member be present during the proceeding.
The new House rules unveiled by Democrats in January removed that requirement, allowing committee staff to conduct depositions without a member present.
