Rep. Cummings: White House 'Stonewalling' House Panel

Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D- Md. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., says the White House has “engaged in an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction.”
Cummings, who is chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, made his comments in a column posted by The Washington Post on Tuesday evening.

“In November, the American people voted overwhelmingly to put Democrats in charge of the House of Representatives to start serving as a truly independent check and balance on the executive branch,” he said. “Since then, President (Donald) Trump and his allies have complained of “Presidential Harassment,” decrying Democrats for having the audacity to request documents and witnesses to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities.

“The problem is that the White House is engaged in an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction.”
Cummings claimed he has sent 12 letters to the White House on a half-dozen topics. But the administration has refused to turn over any documents and has not produced any witnesses for interviews.

He said his committee is reviewing White House security clearances, “hush money” payments to silence women alleging affairs with Trump, White House officials’ alleged use of personal email in violation of federal law and other issues.
Cummings maintained the refusal to produce any documents or witnesses “to the primary investigative committee in the House reflects a decision at the highest levels to deny congressional oversight altogether.”

And he added: “If our committee must resort to issuing subpoenas, there should be no doubt about why. This has nothing to do with presidential harassment and everything to do with unprecedented obstruction.”