Rashida Tlaib Directs Mnuchin to Get an Attorney During Testy Hearing on Trump's Finances
Townhall.com ^ | May 22, 2019 | Cortney O'Brien
Posted on 5/22/2019, 3:13:57 PM by jazusamo
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sat before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday to face a group of Democrats who want President Trump's tax returns. The House Ways and Means Committee recently issued a subpoena for six years of returns, which the administration rejected.
Mnuchin's letter to the Democrats concluded that their request "lacks a legitimate legislative purpose." A federal judge upheld the subpoena, but it was perhaps no surprise considering he was appointed by President Obama. Additionally, the chief counsel's office drafted an IRS memo noting that chairmen of congressional committees don't need "a legitimate legislative purpose" for requesting tax returns.
Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) felt compelled to give Mnuchin a constitutional lesson on the three coequal branches of government at Wednesday's hearing.
"The executive branch, right?" she asked sarcastically. "Which executes the laws. You don't make the laws. We make the laws," she said, pointing to herself and her colleagues.
"I understand there are three branches of government and they perform different functions," Mnuchin coolly responded.
The witness continued to defend Trump's decision not to comply with their demands, insisting he had not violated the law. Since he wasn't giving the Democrats what they wanted, they warned him to get a lawyer.
Scott Dworkin
✔@funder
Rep Tlaib tells Mnuchin to seek out “personal legal advice” in regards to the coverup going on in the White House.
"Secretary, please seek out legal advice personally, of what your obligations are, because the Department of Justice is not protecting you, it's protecting the president," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) suggested.
Using the same phrase Pelosi used this morning, Tlaib accused Mnuchin of engaging in a "cover-up" on behalf of the occupant of the White House.
Democrats noted as soon as they won the House last fall that obtaining Trump's tax returns was going to be one of their top priorities .
Looks like she is the one who needs the attorneys...
Tlaib frantically asked campaign for personal money, messages show, as ethics probes announcedThe House Ethics Committee on Thursday released a trove of striking internal campaign communications sent in 2018 by Michigan Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib, in which Tlaib urgently requested money from her congressional campaign to defray personal expenses -- and, a government watchdog said, possibly violated federal law in the process.
The document dump was related to the committee's ongoing ethics probe into Tlaib, which the panel said on Thursday would be "expanded" based on a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE). Additionally, the Ethics Committee acknowledged for the first time on Thursday an investigation into Florida Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings concerning a "personal relationship with an individual employed in his congressional office."
Texts and emails released by the Ethics Committee show Tlaib frantically contacting members of her staff for financial help.
In one April 2018 email offered as an exhibit by OCE,
Tlaib wrote that she was "struggling financially right now" and was "sinking." She continued: "So I was thinking the campaign could loan me money, but Ryan said that the committee could actually pay me. I was thinking a one time payment of $5k."In another email, on April 4, 2018, Tlaib wrote:
"I am just not going to make it through the campaign without a stipend.""With the loss of a second income to lean back on," she wrote. "I am requesting $2,000 per two weeks but not exceeding $12,000. The cost of living stipend is going towards much needed expenses due to campaigning that includes car maintenance, child care and other necessities. Please let me know if I can proceed."In August of that year, Tlaib texted her future chief of staff Ryan Anderson at 6:38 a.m.:
"Sorry for the early text but do you think the campaign can still pay me a stipend until the general. Trying to get out of debt.""I think we definitely afford to do so. But we need to really clearly define your time and space," Anderson responded, noting that the arrangement could arouse "concern" among the media.
The OCE also attached scans of checks made out to Tlaib from her campaign, totaling thousands of dollars.
Talib's lawyers said in August there was no evidence that she violated the law on purpose or otherwise, and insisted there were no bad intentions. They noted that Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations permit campaigns to "pay limited salary to candidates who curtail outside employment to focus on their campaigns" in certain limited conditions that, the lawyers said, were met in this instance.
The attorneys went on to say it was "most irregular" for OCE to call for a probe into a member of Congress based on pre-election activities, and argued that there was no "conscious disregard of any law or regulation." Tlaib was paid by her campaign after Election Day, the attorneys conceded, but they asserted that the money was for services performed before Election Day.
But Tlaib's campaign committee, Rashida Tlaib for Congress, allegedly "reported campaign disbursements that may not be legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes," according to a release from OCE that unanimously recommended the Ethics Committee investigate Tlaib.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-ethics-committee-announces-probe-into-dem-reps-tlaib-hastings
