In a letter to Chairman Grassley, SJC Dems request bipartisan cooperation to compel the Justice Department to immediately produce information responding to oversight requests and questions that Bondi dodged
WASHINGTON – Responding to Attorney General Bondi’s inappropriate and unprecedented stonewalling at the Senate Judiciary Committee’s recent Justice Department oversight hearing, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Committee, and all Committee Democrats requested bipartisan cooperation from Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) in conducting rigorous oversight of the Justice Department.
In a letter to Grassley, the Democratic Senators begin by admonishing Bondi for her conduct, writing: “[I]nstead of engaging in good faith with Committee members who have a constitutional obligation to conduct oversight of her management of the Department, its authorities, and resources, Attorney General Bondi refused to answer legitimate questions from both Democratic and Republican Members of the Committee and instead repeatedly launched partisan attacks against Democratic Members.”
The Democratic Senators then cited specific unwarranted, problematic interactions with Democratic Committee Members, writing that Bondi “rebuffed any transparency” on deploying the National Guard domestically, “with[held] information from Congress” on the ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels, “hid behind a generic response” on high-profile terminations of prosecutors, and was generally “prepared to make ad hominem attacks on Democratic senators in an attempt to deflect legitimate oversight questions.”
The Democratic Senators then were frank: “This is not the conduct of a public servant who respects constitutional checks and balances.”
The Democratic Senators concluded with a direct ask for Chairman Grassley to join in attempts to compel the Justice Department to cooperate with the legitimate oversight functions of the Committee, outlining a series of information requests to DOJ, writing: “We would never have accepted such conduct from an Attorney General appointed by a Democratic president. We cannot allow the Trump Administration to stonewall Congress as it continues to undo our nation’s constitutional order and undermine the rule of law. We ask you to help us defend the Constitution, and Congress as a co-equal branch of the federal government, because no one is served by a Congress that allows an Administration—of either party—to reject its oversight authority and usurp its legislative function.”
For a PDF copy of the full letter to Grassley, click here.
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