It was just two weeks ago when Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released a devastating 156-page report called “White House For Sale.” Relying on documents from Donald Trump’s former accounting firm, congressional researchers determined that the Republican’s businesses received “at least” $7.8 million from 20 foreign governments — over a two year period — while Trump was in the White House, despite the prohibitions in the Emoluments Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
An NBC News report added that China was “the leading spender, paying more than $5.5 million to Trump-owned properties.”
A week later, the subject came up during a town-hall event on Fox News, and the Republican didn’t make any effort to deny the accuracy of the Democrats’ findings. Trump’s defense, for all intents and purposes, was that it’s fine that he took millions of dollars from foreign governments during his presidency because he also provided services in exchange for the money.
There’s no shortage of related questions — starting with the fact that the House Democrats’ examination was limited to two of Trump’s four years. Perhaps Senate Democrats, who have majority powers their House counterparts lack, could help get some answers? The New Republic’s Greg Sargent reported:
In recent days, according to a source familiar with the situation, [House Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie] Raskin has approached Senate Democrats and made the case that they might consider using their subpoena power to continue the investigation into the unconstitutional payments.
The Maryland Democrat, who’s taken a leading role in exposing the foreign money the Republican received while in office, specifically told Greg, “I am hopeful that our colleagues in the Senate will explore any avenues they may have to recover the hidden information. Trump’s brazen pocketing of foreign government payments was an insult and affront to both the House and Senate, which together have the sole power to approve or disapprove such payments.”
In case this isn’t obvious, Raskin and his Democratic colleagues on the House Oversight panel would love to pursue this further, but they can’t: They’re in the minority and have no investigatory authority.
In theory, the committee’s Republican majority should be interested in exploring the degree to which a recent American president ignored constitutional limits and raked in millions of foreign dollars. In practice, the very idea of GOP lawmakers asking questions about Trump’s apparent wrongdoing is fanciful.
All of which brings us back to Senate Democrats — who have a majority, the ability to launch investigations, the power to issue subpoenas, and an opportunity to at least try to get answers.
For now, no such actions appear imminent, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, at least publicly, hasn’t taken an interest in the controversy. That said, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden told Greg in a written statement, “Trump’s ties to autocratic regimes in the Middle East and China in particular demand scrutiny from Senate Democrats.” The question isn’t whether this is a thread worth pulling on; the question is whether Senate Democrats have the political will to take the matter seriously. Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
Latest Post
Recommended
