House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler speaks with the media on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., December 7, 2018.JOSHUA ROBERTS / REUTERS) Four months after Democrats took control of the House of Representatives, the Judiciary Committee, issued document requests from 81 individuals and organizations. These documents requests are for the same documents that have been obtained by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. And to the surprise of many Democrats, Chairman Jerrold Nadler immediately came under attack from some Democrats. Some Democrats were concerned that the number and breadth of the requests would play into the Republican narrative of a Democratic witch hunt and omnibus search for wrongdoing by Trump.
The disagreement between Democrats who want Nadler to pursue a robust policy and Democrats who want him to seek the approval of Republicans is not due to policy differences. Instead, the difference seems to be based on the different expectations Democrats have of Republicans.
Some Democrats believe that no matter what Nadler does, Republicans will attack Democrats for running a partisan witch hunt. These same Democrats think that Trump and his administration will slow walk any document requests and eventually try to dispute them until the 2020 election makes any requests moot.
These Democrats believe that Nadler and the Judiciary Committee are sworn to protect the rule of law and must investigate allegations of law-breaking. And Trump’s public, blatant, and numerous illegalities require action by the Judiciary Committee.
Finally, some Democrats want to ensure that what Mueller found will not be buried by Trump’s Justice Department. Thus, Nadler is seeking to duplicate any findings from Mueller’s investigation that are also relevant to the Judiciary Committee.
The sharpest difference between Democrats today may be the extent to which some of them doubt the goodwill of Republicans. If you want to find out where a Democrat stands, ask her if she thinks she could have prevailed on Mitch McConnell’s goodwill to give Merritt Garland, Barack Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court, a hearing.
The disagreement between Democrats who want Nadler to pursue a robust policy and Democrats who want him to seek the approval of Republicans is not due to policy differences. Instead, the difference seems to be based on the different expectations Democrats have of Republicans.
Some Democrats believe that no matter what Nadler does, Republicans will attack Democrats for running a partisan witch hunt. These same Democrats think that Trump and his administration will slow walk any document requests and eventually try to dispute them until the 2020 election makes any requests moot.
These Democrats believe that Nadler and the Judiciary Committee are sworn to protect the rule of law and must investigate allegations of law-breaking. And Trump’s public, blatant, and numerous illegalities require action by the Judiciary Committee.
Finally, some Democrats want to ensure that what Mueller found will not be buried by Trump’s Justice Department. Thus, Nadler is seeking to duplicate any findings from Mueller’s investigation that are also relevant to the Judiciary Committee.
The sharpest difference between Democrats today may be the extent to which some of them doubt the goodwill of Republicans. If you want to find out where a Democrat stands, ask her if she thinks she could have prevailed on Mitch McConnell’s goodwill to give Merritt Garland, Barack Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court, a hearing.
| https://bit.ly/2NIy7e8 | https://nyti.ms/2VBEVwS | https://bit.ly/2Hf4Zdr  |