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House Passes Resolution Directing the Department of Justice to Turn over Documents

June 28, 2018
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 970, a resolution from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and 18 other co-sponsors expressing the sense of Congress that the Department of Justice must turn over all remaining relevant documents owed to Congressional investigators within 7 days. The resolution draws a line in the sand for the DOJ to comply with the requests, including subpoenas issued by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on the Judiciary, relating to potential violations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by the Department of Justice, among other matters.

Rep. Jim Jordan released the following statement:

"The House of Representatives went on record today telling the Department of Justice, ‘Enough is enough. Give us what we've asked for.'"

Rep. Meadows:

"This is a loud and clear message from Congress: it is time for the Department of Justice to be forthcoming and tell the truth to the American people. For over 8 months, they have had the opportunity to choose transparency—but they've instead chosen to withhold information and impede any effort of Congress to conduct oversight. If Rod Rosenstein and the Department of Justice have nothing to hide, they certainly haven't acted like it.

I want to thank my colleague, Jim Jordan, for his leadership, and so many other colleagues for their support. One way or the other, Americans will find out what truly occurred at their Department of Justice on their taxpayer dime."

The following original co-sponsors also released statements: 

Rep. Warren Davidson (OH-08):

"This is an issue central to our Constitution. Without serious reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the Fourth Amendment will exist as nothing more than a very distant memory. This bill will help reform FISA and help defend our Constitution." 

Rep. DesJarlais (TN-04):

"The Deputy Attorney General has called Congress' constitutional oversight responsibilities, which we perform on behalf of the American public, ‘extortion,' refusing to respond to requests for more information about the origins of the Obama Administration's premature exoneration of Hillary Clinton and related investigation of Donald Trump's campaign — what appear to be partisan efforts to influence a presidential election. Today at a hearing, he again refused to answer pertinent questions. The FBI Director also has questions to answer about biased agents with an anti-Trump agenda, who worked or work for Robert Mueller's team. I'm very concerned that illegal warrants, wiretapping and spying were part of a wider effort to undermine our electoral system and co-sponsored this resolution to uncover the truth."

Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-01):

"Today, the House won a tremendous victory in our fight for transparency. The Department of Justice's delays, redactions, and stonewalling are a slap in the face to Congress's constitutional oversight authority. The American people deserve transparency, and the Department of Justice needs to be honest with — and accountable to — we, the people. We must ensure that no political party can tip the scales of justice, and that our intelligence community is more interested in keeping America safe than trying to sway elections or casting clouds of doubt over a new administration. Though our fight for transparency will continue, today's resolution shows that we take our oversight responsibility seriously. The Department of Justice has until July 6 to provide the information we have requested. I hope they meet this deadline, or there will be consequences — and I look forward to reviewing these documents at long last." 

Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-04):

"The Department of Justice must stop blocking Congress from documents that are well within our rights to receive. The longer they continue to stonewall Congress from accessing the documents the more the American people lose faith in our justice system. Today's vote sends a strong message to Rod Rosenstein; comply with the law and do your job or be impeached." 

Rep. Jody Hice (GA-10):

"The American people – not just Members of Congress – demand answers to the lingering questions that still surround the Department of Justice's (DOJ) actions during and after the 2016 presidential election. This resolution is a clear message to the DOJ that the U.S. House of Representatives is determined to see that these documents are provided immediately. Even a single page from these missing documents could be critical to the ongoing Congressional investigation and should also be taken as a signal that all options within our Constitutional purview are on the table. Simply put, the House will go to whatever lengths required to bring the truth to light."

Rep. Lee Zeldin (NY-01):

"I thank my colleagues Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows for their leadership on this important issue. I do not subscribe to the pledge of those in Congress and our great country who insist on resisting, opposing, obstructing and impeaching this President on anything and everything. That is not the best path forward for America. My priority is upholding my oath to my constituents and my country, and it's one I take seriously. This is about justice, transparency and accountability."

Rep. Scott Perry (PA-04):

"The Department of Justice must comply with Congressional subpoenas as we conduct our oversight. These Constitutional checks and balances have a purpose - for over 200 years.  The American People deserve to know what our government is doing behind closed doors. We must be transparent."