The Biden administration told top-ranking Republican congressmen that it is not constitutionally required to honor their oversight requests as the minority party in Congress and that they will have to try doing so again once they attain the House majority next month.
White House Special Counsel Richard Sauber forwarded a letter Thursday to House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jim Jordan (R-OH), and House Oversight Committee ranking member James Comer (R-KY), to inform them that the Biden administration would not answer letters seeking information for potential House probes, saying the congressmen must resubmit those inquires once they have power in the next Congress.
Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce opined that the move was “obviously a blatant attempt to slow-walk the oversight process” and “prevent transparency on a number of issues” including Covid-19, the border, and Joe Biden’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.
https://rumble.com/v233zes-white-house-delays-gop-oversight-requests-chad-pergram.html?mref=6ozih&mc=aleum
Sauber told Jordan and Comer that the Congressional oversight powers requested by Republicans are not ones “to which the constitutional accommodation obligations” mandate the White House to respond, hence why he would not assist their inquiry, according to Just The News.
“Just before dawn at 4:33 a.m., the White House informed us they will not provide the answers we have been seeking for the American people on important issues such as the border and fentanyl crises, the energy crisis, botched Afghanistan withdrawal, COVID origins and the Biden family’s influence peddling,” Comer declared in a statement to Fox News.
“President Biden promised to have the most transparent administration in history, but at every turn the Biden White House seeks to obstruct congressional oversight and hide information from the American people,” he added.
Jordan has reportedly promised to take advantage of subpoena power that he will acquire next year to obtain the information if necessary.
“Please be aware that if our requests remain outstanding at the beginning of the 118th Congress, the committee may be forced to resort to compulsory process to obtain the material we require,” the Ohio representative said.
Ian Sams, who serves as a spokesman for the White House counsel’s office, insisted the office will act in “good faith” when dealing with Republicans.
“As we have over the past two years, we intend to work in good faith to provide appropriate information to Congress, but Americans have made clear they expect their leaders in Washington to work together on their top priorities, like lowering costs. That’s what the president will focus on, and we hope House Republicans join him,” Sams said, before insisting that threats of action like subpoenas amount to nothing more than political stunts.
The House Judiciary Committee has publicly accused the White House of doing nothing more than “playing games.”
Does leaking a story and sending a letter at 4:34 a.m. sound like “good faith” to you, @JoeBiden?
No. It shows how scared you are of important congressional oversight, particularly one where your administration targeted parents protesting at local school board meetings.
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) December 29, 2022
