Trump Asserts Imaginary Rights to Limit Congressional Oversight to What He Deems as Legitimate or Not
U.S. president Donald Trump asserts he has the right to determine the legitimacy of Congressional Oversight proceedings. Practically saying that Congress can legitimately scrutinize his activities only if he as president, deems it legal. ERGO: Congress can initiate as many oversight proceedings as they want, but cannot expect Trump to cooperate if he says it is not legitimate, like when he says that the oversight is politically motivated.
If it is any consolation, some Republicans are expressing disagreement to such views. House Representative Tom Cole (R-OK), said he disagrees with Trump’s legal theories about Congressional Oversight and the ability of Congress to police Trump’s activities while acting as president of the U.S.
House Judiciary Committee member Ken Buck (R-CO.), says his stance is aligned with Congress and not with the Executive Branch. That if Trump had acted illegally, then Congress has oversight authority.
Rep. Justin Amash (R – MI) was more specific with his disagreement over Trump’s views about having the right to determine the legality of a Congressional Oversight, This Republican lawmaker was more vocal, he argues
“The Mueller Report proved Trump committed obstruction of justice… Trumped escaped indictment only because of rules that prevent the U.S. Justice Department from indicting a sitting president.”
Such disagreements sounded like good news to the House Democrats, but the bad news is that except for Rep. Amash, the disagreeing Republican lawmakers still support Trump’s rejection of the House Democrats Committees’ investigations. They continue to insist Democrats are seeking to gain more by overreaching their Congressional investigative powers.
Republican Representative Justin Amash Shows Consistency by Making a Call for Impeachment
Aside from being the sole Republican to make a call for Trump’s impeachment, Representative Justin Amash tweeted strong words over the issue:
“We’ve witnessed members of Congress from both parties shift their views on the importance of character, on the principles of obstruction of justice, all of which depend on whether they are dealing with Bill Clinton or Donald Trump,”
As a result, Rep. Amash faces the wrath of his fellow Republicans and has been rebuked by Donald Trump who says,
”He (Amash) is a total lightweight who continuously opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies, just to get his name out there through controversy.”