Posted on 10/02/2019 7:33:03 PM PDT by Cboldt
October 2, 2019
The Honorable
Eliot L. Engel, Chairman
Committee on Foreign Affairs
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Mr. Chairman:
I am writing to strongly object to the abdication of the Foreign Affairs Committee's oversight jurisdiction to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. It will damage the credibility of our committee and minimize our Members' expertise in the exercise of that jurisdiction.
On September 27, 2019, you and two other chairmen sent a letter to the Secretary of State claiming to "schedule" without subpoena the depositions of five State Department officials to "be conducted jointly by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform." The stated subjects of the depositions - the conduct of U.S. relations with Ukraine, and U.S. security assistance to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression - are squarely within the Rule X jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. According to House Rule X, our committee is responsible for "Relations of the United States with foreign nations generally." This is not the jurisdiction of the Intelligence Committee.
Contrary to the first sentence of that letter, there is not a "House of Representatives' impeachment inquiry." Official impeachment inquiries are initiated by the adoption of a House resolution empowering or creating a committee or task force to undertake such activities. In both the Nixon and Clinton cases, the Judiciary Committee debated and reported a resolution authorizing the Judiciary Committee to investigate whether there were sufficient grounds to impeach the President, which was then debated and voted on by the full House of Representatives.[1] There have been no such debates or votes in this Congress.
Unless and until that happens, individual committees may conduct oversight and investigations only pursuant to their general jurisdiction and authority under House Rules X and XI. Except for the Committee on Oversight and Reform (which is granted plenary investigative authority by Rule X(4)(c)(2)), committees do not have the authority to conduct investigations within the jurisdiction of other standing committees.
Put simply, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff lacks the jurisdiction to investigate the Department of State's conduct of United States foreign policy toward Ukraine. That prerogative belongs to our Members.
Thus, I was alarmed to learn - less than 24 hours before the first interview is scheduled to start - that it will be led by the Intelligence Committee and that questioning will be done solely by their staff. Also we were told that only a single Republican professional staffer from the Foreign Affairs Committee will be allowed to attend while the majority will have two. These constraints on committee and Republican participation are unacceptable and at odds with House Rules and general fairness. Impeaching the President of the United States is a grave and serious matter for the American people, and they expect fairness and due process by their representatives in establishing the facts. We demand equal representation and participation in this inquiry, there is too much at stake for America and Congress.
Sincerely,
MICHAEL T. McCAUL
Ranking Member
House Foreign Affairs Committee
Wrong Committee, and this can't be the only one that is mixed up.
Link has press release intro to the letter.
Stop the hearing then.........
That's not going to happen. The only use this letter has is a formal notice of objection, and whatever effect that has on the ignorant public.
Republicans really shine in the role of out of power losers. Nobody can get as righteously indignant as they can.
McCaul is one of those that has been a backstabber. Now he’s playing “conservative”.
But “Orange Man Bad” surely makes all these rules and laws moot.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.