The Democrats are said to be targeting 85 subject areas relating to Donald Trump's White House for investigation now that the door has been opened by taking control of the House of Representatives. The probes, and potential subpoenas, include but are but not limited to the president’s tax returns, the firing of former FBI director James Comey, and White House security clearances.
The investigations into the topics listed in the “Democratic hit list” will not be carried out all at once. California Democrat Representative Adam Schiff told Axios that each House committee will come up with a strategy over what topics are the most disconcerting. These could be relating to Mr Trump’s business relationship in Russia - something the president has denied - or his involvement in US-North Korean relations.
Some of the topics that House Democrats are looking to investigate include the payment to adult actor Stormy Daniels, White House staff emails, the business dealings of Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and the administration’s travel ban and family separation polices.
Mr Schiff, who will sit as the new House Intelligence Committee chair early next year, said the party will also probe Mr Trump’s verbal threats towards media organisations like CNN and the Washington Post.
“This appears to be an effort by the president to use the instruments of state power to punish Jeff Bezos and The Washington Post,” Mr Schiff said.
Jeff Bezos owns both Amazon and the Washington Post.
The committee will look into Mr Trump personally urging the postmaster gender to double Amazon’s shipping rates in an attempt to harm or threaten the post.
The 116th Congress will likely usher in new momentum for investigations into the Trump, and potentially impeachment, proceedings. With a Republican-controlled Congress, Democratic efforts to launch probes into the administration have been continuously stonewalled.
As of September 2018, the House Oversight Committee—currently led by Republican Representative Trey Gowdy of South Carolina—blocked 64 subpoena requests made by Democrats. Some of those subpoenas include the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and Health and Human Services over documents regarding the Trump administration’s family separation policy.
The “zero tolerance” family separation policy - in which all adults entering the US illegally are sent for prosecution - led to children being taken away and housed separately as they could not enter the . The practice, which was halted by executive order earlier this year, has led to a number of incidents and reports of the administration “losing track” of over 1,000 children.
The new Congress will convene on January 3, 2019.
