28/04/2019 Gerry Connolly threatens to jail Trump officials who won't comply with subpoenas - CNNPolitics

Connolly threatens to jail Trump officials

who won't comply with subpoenas
By Caroline Kelly and Kevin Liptak, CNN
Updated 1241 GMT (2041 HKT) April 26, 2019

Washington (CNN) — A Democratic lawmaker on Thursday ratcheted up warnings to the Trump administration
amid a growing stando over subpoenas and oversight requests the White House says it will resist.

Rep. Gerry Connolly threatened jail time for White House o cials who are declining to comply with
congressional committees' e orts to conduct oversight of President Donald Trump's administration. It's the
latest salvo in the escalating battle between the White House and congressional Democrats, who have scaled
up their oversight requests following the conclusion of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

Connolly, who sits on the Oversight Committee, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on "The Situation Room," "We're going
to resist, and if a subpoena is issued and you're told you must testify, we will back that up."

RELATED: Trump at war with Democrats: 'We're fighting all

the subpoenas'

"And we will use any and all power in our command to

make sure it's backed up -- whether that's a contempt
citation, whether that's going to court and getting that
citation enforced, whether it's fines, whether it's possible
incarceration," the Virginia Democrat added. "We will go to
the max to enforce the constitutional role of the legislative
branch of government."

RELATED: House Democrats seek information on

Related Article: Trump at war with Homeland Security departures, Stephen Miller
Democrats: 'We're fighting all the
subpoenas' Trump and administration o cials have signaled they will
resist the attempts to investigate his policies and personal
finances, which has outraged lawmakers and led to
accusations he is undermining the constitutional
separation of powers.

READ: White House letter that says Stephen Miller won't testify before Congress on immigration

"We're fighting all the subpoenas," Trump said on Wednesday. "These aren't like impartial people. The
Democrats are trying to win 2020. They're not going to win with the people I see and they're not going to win
against me."

Three o cials have refused to comply with congressional

requests to testify at the administration's urging, ratcheting
up the long-brewing battle with House Democrats ready
and willing to take their multi-front investigations to the
courts.

RELATED: Trump says there was an attempted 'coup' on

his administration: 'It's far bigger than Watergate'
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/25/politics/gerry-connolly-subpoenas-white-house-cnntv/index.html 1/2
28/04/2019 Gerry Connolly threatens to jail Trump officials who won't comply with subpoenas - CNNPolitics
Related Article: Trump says there was an
attempted 'coup' on his administration: 'It's
far bigger than Watergate'
Related Article: READ: White House letter
that says Stephen Miller won't testify
before Congress on immigration
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/25/politics/gerry-connolly-subpoenas-white-house-cnntv/index.html
The House Oversight Committee had asked to hear from
senior White House adviser Stephen Miller on immigration,
former security o cial Carl Kline on security clearances
and Justice Department Principal Deputy Assistant
Attorney General John Gore on adding a citizenship
question to the US census.
Connolly called the o cials' excuses for failing to appear
"an assault on the legislative branch" and "the
constitutional framework of our government," warning that
the legislative branch would become "a pale shadow of
what it was intended to be" should the o cials' refusals
stand.
Connolly said his committee had hoped to learn what
Miller "has in his head" given his increasing involvement in
the administration's immigration policies, calling him
Trump's "immigration whisperer" in light of the Department
of Homeland Security's recent leadership changes and the
"zero tolerance" policy that resulted in family separations.
RELATED: How Stephen Miller tightened his grip over
Trump's immigration and border policy
"We want to hear from him, what is your thinking, what is it
you've been advising the President, and where is it you
think you're going to be taking us as a country with these
kinds of policies and personnel changes?" he added.
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