Two months after Democrats took control of the House, the Judiciary Committee is getting down to business. Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Monday launched a broad investigation into President Trump, issuing document requests for 81 people and entities tied to him and potentially beginning to lay the groundwork for impeachment.
The committee told reporters on Monday that the investigation will focus on three primary topics, according to NPR: “whether the president obstructed justice by interfering with criminal investigations; potential corruption such as violation of campaign and financial reporting laws, as well as possible misuse of office for personal gain; and abuses of power to include misuse of the pardon power and attacks on the press, judiciary and law enforcement agencies.”
Those receiving requests for documents include Trump’s charity, business, campaign, and inaugural committee. Two of his children — Eric and Donald Trump Jr. — are also on the list of 81, as is son-in-law Jared Kushner. Other names on the list include Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Roger Stone, and Steve Bannon.
Counsel for the committee told NBC News that the goal of the requests is to “amass a very large treasure trove of evidence” to guide its investigation. And though Nadler said on Sunday that “impeachment is a long way down the road,” the possibility of removing Trump from office looms over the investigation. After all, the Judiciary Committee is where impeachment proceedings would begin.
Nadler, who has already said that it’s “very clear” that Trump obstructed justice, didn’t mention the I-word in a statement on Monday. “We will act quickly to gather this information, assess the evidence, and follow the facts where they lead with full transparency with the American people,” he said.
Trump suggested on Monday that he will cooperate with the investigation. “I cooperate all the time with everybody,” he told reporters. But in a speech at CPAC on Saturday, he struck quite the opposite tone. “They don’t have anything with Russia. There’s no collusion,” he said. “So now they go and morph into, ‘Let’s inspect every deal he’s ever done. We’re going to go into his finances. We’re going to check his deals.’ … These people are sick.”
