Incoming House Committee chairs promise pain for Trump

Maxine Waters. Subpoenas are coming.

On January 3, activist Democrats will replace complicit do-nothing Republican House committee chairs. The new chairs will do what Republicans were too compromised or cowardly to do – provide oversight. There will be many hearings on Trump corruption, fraud, and Russia ties. Democrats will use their subpoena powers and demand answers.

The new chairs will be a nightmare for Trump.

Maxine Waters. Financial Services

I lived in Los Angeles for years. Maxine Waters is an institution there. She’s formidable and is going to rip the Trumpets a new one. Bet on it. And order more popcorn.

Appropriate oversight of the Trump Administration and the regulatory agencies under the Committee’s jurisdiction will also be an important responsibility for the Committee. Of particular importance is ensuring that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is not dismantled by Trump’s appointees. This critical agency must be allowed to resume its work of protecting consumers from unfair, deceptive or abusive practices without interference from the Trump Administration.”

Adam Schiff. Intelligence Committee

Schiff will demand Trump personal banking records from Deutsche Bank. Trump said demanding such records would be a red line. Mueller no doubt already has them. Schiff will get them. These bank records could be the smoking guns that show money laundering.

“At the end of the day, what should concern us most is anything that can have a continuing impact on the foreign policy and national-security policy of the United States, and, if the Russians were laundering money for the Trump Organization, that would be totally compromising.” Schiff hypothesizes that Trump went beyond using his campaign and the Presidency as a vehicle for advancing his business interests, speculating that he may have shaped policy with an eye to expanding his fortune. “There’s a whole constellation of issues where that is essentially the center of gravity,” Schiff said. “Obviously, that issue is implicated in efforts to build Trump Tower in Moscow. It’s implicated in the money that Trump is bragging he was getting from the Saudis. And why shouldn’t he love the Saudis? He said he was making so much money from them.”

Jerry Nadler. Judiciary Committee

Nadler will issue many subpoenas and have multiple hearings about Trump corruption and fraud.

“Well, I think what these indictments and filings show is that the president was at the center of a massive fraud—several massive frauds—against the American people,” Nadler said. “And it’s now our job…to get to the bottom of this.”

Tapper asked if the prosecutors’ allegations would be impeachable offenses if proven.

“Well, they would be impeachable offenses,” Nadler acknowledged, before adding an important caveat: “Whether they are important enough to justify an impeachment is a different question. But certainly, they’d be impeachable offenses, because even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office.”

Elijah Cummings. Oversight Committee

Republicans on the committee wouldn’t give Democrats subpoena power, so they won’t get it now.

“No,” Cummings said when asked about the prospect of splitting the ability to compel witnesses to testify before his committee. “The subpoenas that I wanted to issue would be much different than the ones I’ve seen. I want to issue subpoenas that go to the very heart of our democracy, and protecting that democracy. And subpoenas, by the way, that may involve, say, private industries like the pharmaceutical companies that are — with these skyrocketing drug prices. It’s our opportunity. I will consult with them. I will work with them, unlike they did with me. But no.”