Mar 4, 2019 - Politics & Policy

House Judiciary Committee launches sweeping Trump probe

Zachary Basu
, author of
Axios Sneak Peek

The House Judiciary Committee launched on Monday a sweeping investigation of President Trump and his inner circle that will focus on 3 broad spheres of interest: allegations of obstruction of justice, public corruption and other abuses of power.

Details: The panel sent document requests to 81 individuals and entities related to the president and allegations of possible misconduct, giving them a deadline of March 18 to respond. The president's business, charity, campaign, inaugural committee and family are among those to receive document requests.

The big picture: House Judiciary chairman Jerrold Nadler said on Sunday that "it's very clear" President Trump obstructed justice — a noteworthy claim, given that impeachment proceedings against Trump would run through Nadler's committee. But House Democratic leaders aren't ready to move forward with impeachment yet, especially if it's going to go nowhere in the Republican-controlled Senate.

As Axios' Mike Allen notes, Democrats plan to pursue a slow-bleed strategy with lengthy public hearings and scores of witnesses to methodically pick apart Trump's finances and presidency.
Expect plenty of public hearings and aggressive pushes for documents as Democrats look to buy time before the 2020 elections.

Statement from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders:

“Today, Chairman Nadler opened up a disgraceful and abusive investigation into tired, false allegations already investigated by the Special Counsel and committees in both Chambers of Congress. Chairman Nadler and his fellow Democrats have embarked on this fishing expedition because they are terrified that their two-year false narrative of ‘Russia collusion’ is crumbling. Their intimidation and abuse of American citizens is shameful. Democrats are harassing the President to distract from their radical agenda of making American a socialist country, killing babies after they’re born, and pushing a ‘green new deal’ that would destroy jobs and bankrupt America. The American people deserve a Congress that works with the President to address serious issues like immigration, healthcare and infrastructure. The Democrats are more interested in pathetic political games and catering a radical, leftist base than on producing results for citizens. The Democrats are not after the truth, they are after the President.”

The full list:

Alan Garten (letter, document requests)
Alexander Nix (letter, document requests)
Allen Weisselberg (letter, document requests)
American Media Inc (letter, document requests)
Anatoli Samochornov (letter, document requests)
Andrew Intrater (letter, document requests)
Annie Donaldson (letter, document requests)
Brad Parscale (letter, document requests)
Brittany Kaiser (letter, document requests)
Cambridge Analytica (letter, document requests)
Carter Page (letter , document requests)
Columbus Nova (letter, document requests)
Concord Management and Consulting (letter, document requests)
Corey Lewandowski (letter, document requests)
David Pecker (letter, document requests)
Department of Justice (letter, document requests)
Don McGahn (letter, document requests)
Donald J Trump Revocable Trust (letter, document requests)
Donald Trump Jr. (letter, document requests)
Dylan Howard (letter, document requests)
Eric Trump (letter, document requests)
Erik Prince (letter, document requests)
Federal Bureau of Investigation (letter, document requests)
Felix Sater (letter, document requests)
Flynn Intel Group (letter, document requests)
General Services Administration (letter, document requests)
George Nader (letter, document requests)
George Papadopoulos (letter, document requests)
Hope Hicks (letter, document requests)
Irakly Kaveladze (letter, document requests)
Jared Kushner (letter, document requests)
Jason Maloni (letter, document requests)
Jay Sekulow (letter, document requests)
Jeff Sessions (letter, document requests)
Jerome Corsi (letter, document requests)
John Szobocsan (letter, document requests)
Julian Assange (letter, document requests)
Julian David Wheatland (letter, document requests)
Keith Davidson (letter, document requests)
KT McFarland (letter, document requests)
Mark Corallo (letter, document requests)
Matt Tait (letter, document requests)
Matthew Calamari (letter, document requests)
Michael Caputo (letter, document requests)
Michael Cohen (letter, document requests)
Michael Flynn (letter, document requests)
Michael Flynn Jr (letter, document requests)
Paul Erickson (letter, document requests)
Paul Manafort (letter, document requests)
Peter Smith (Estate) (letter, document requests)
Randy Credico (letter, document requests)
Reince Priebus (letter, document requests)
Rhona Graff (letter, document requests)
Rinat Akhmetshin (letter, document requests)
Rob Goldstone (letter, document requests)
Roger Stone (letter, document requests)
Ronald Lieberman (letter, document requests)
Sam Nunberg (letter, document requests)
SCL Group Limited (letter, document requests)
Sean Spicer (letter, document requests)
Sheri Dillon (letter, document requests)
Stefan Passantino (letter, document requests)
Steve Bannon (letter, document requests)
Ted Malloch (letter, document requests)
The White House (letter, document requests)
Trump Campaign (letter, document requests)
Trump Foundation (letter, document requests)
Trump Organization (letter, document requests)
Trump Transition (letter, document requests)
Viktor Vekselberg (letter, document requests)
Wikileaks (letter, document requests)
58th Presidential Inaugural Committee (letter, document requests)
Christopher Bancroft Burnham (letter, document requests)
Frontier Services Group (letter, document requests)
J.D. Gordon (letter, document requests)
Kushner Companies (letter, document requests)
NRA (letter, document requests)
Rick Gates (letter, document requests)
Tom Barrack (letter, document requests)
Tom Bossert (letter, document requests)
Tony Fabrizio (letter, document requests)

Go deeper: Democratic hit list: At least 85 Trump investigation targets