Democrats take cautious view of subpoena powers as they ready investigations
As they prepare to take over the House majority, top Democrats warn that the powerful tool is not a magic wand.
Dec. 17, 2018 / 5:54 AM EST
By Mike Memoli
WASHINGTON — Democrats poised to take control of the House in January are building a strategy for investigating the Trump administration on a range of domestic and foreign policy issues and how they may intersect with the president’s business empire. Yet the most powerful tool at their disposal — a congressional subpoena — is being held in reserve for the short term, multiple Democratic congressional officials involved in the decision-making tell NBC News.
Top lawmakers, aides and former congressional officials warn that subpoena power, while potentially a valuable tool for extracting information, is hardly a magic wand. That’s likely to be especially true now, if the Trump administration challenges Democratic-led inquiries as is widely expected.
Rather than begin with what one congressional aide referred to as a “T-shirt cannon” approach of firing off multiple subpoenas immediately, key committees are planning a more deliberate approach, the officials involved say. It will start with targeted requests for information from Trump officials, in some cases directed at lower-level bureaucrats who might be more likely to comply.
Senior aides on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, for instance, are combing through dozens of requests already made of the Trump administration to determine what they might seek again. They include issues often pressed by committee members of both parties, like the use of chartered aircraft by cabinet officials, how security clearances are issued to White House staff, and the use of private email by senior officials.
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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-take-cautious-view-subpoena-powers-they-ready-investigations-n948531?cid=public-rss_20181217