Tag Archives: Bob Goodlatte

Government Accountability, Politics, US

Sessions “Seriously” Considering Gowdy and Goodlatte’s Calls for Second Special Counsel

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Washington, D.C. — Following a letter sent by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC) demanding the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate alleged FISA abuse by the FBI and DOJ, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, during an interview on Fox News on Wednesday night, said that he “will consider” the request, curiously stating that he’s appointed “a person outside Washington” to investigate the allegations of impropriety.

Gowdy and Goodlatte submitted a letter to AG Sessions on Tuesday demanding the appointment of a second Special Counsel, noting, “Matters have arisen—both recently and otherwise—which necessitate the appointment of a Special Counsel. We do not make this observation and attendant request lightly,” wrote the Congressional chairmen.

“There is evidence of bias, trending toward animus, among those charged with investigating serious cases,” Gowdy and Goodlatte wrote. “There is evidence political opposition research was used in court filings. There is evidence this political opposition research was neither vetted before it was used nor fully revealed to the relevant tribunal.”

During the interview on Fox, Sessions stated:

“Well, I have great respect for Mr. Gowdy and Chairman Goodlatte, and we are going to consider seriously their recommendations. I have appointed a person outside of Washington — many years at the Department of Justice — to look at all of the allegations that the House Judiciary Committee members sent to us and we are conducting that investigation.”

Sessions went on to say the he is “well aware that we have a responsibility to ensure the integrity of the FISA process.”

“We are not afraid to look at that,” Sessions reasoned. “The inspector general, some think that our inspector general is not very strong, but he has almost 500 employees, most of which are lawyers and prosecutors, and they are looking at the FISA process….We must make sure it is done properly, and we are going to do that, and I will consider the request.”

Contrary to the assertions by Sessions regarding the strength of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), Gowdy and Goodlatte’s letter pointed out the inadequacy of using the OIG in this circumstance, noting, “While we have confidence in the Inspector General for the Department of Justice, the DOJ IG does not have the authority to investigate other governmental entities or former employees of the Department, the Bureau, or other agencies.”

In an interview with Fox News, Gowdy explained why he felt an OIG investigation is inadequate in these circumstances.

“What changed for me was the knowledge that there are two dozen witnesses that Michael Horowitz, the [DOJ] Inspector General, would not have access to,” Gowdy said. “When I counted up 24 witnesses that he would not be able to access were he to investigate it, yeah only one conclusion, that’s special counsel.”

Sessions’ nebulous statement regarding having “appointed someone outside of Washington” raises questions as to whom he is referring and what they have been tasked with doing, but according to Fox Host Shannon Bream the AG’s office has confirmed Sessions was referring to a separate “senior federal prosecutor” outside Washington, D.C.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX88suyFcVs

Government Accountability, Politics, US

Congressional Chairmen Demand Appointment of Second Special Counsel

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Washington, D.C.— Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent an official request on March 6 to Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the FBI’s alleged abuse of FISA surveillance and “decisions made or not made” by the Department of Justice (DOJ) preceding the 2016 presidential election and in its aftermath.

“There is evidence of bias, trending toward animus, among those charged with investigating serious cases,” the Committee chairmen wrote in their letter to Sessions. “There is evidence political opposition research was used in court filings. There is evidence this political opposition research was neither vetted before it was used nor fully revealed to the relevant tribunal.”

Sessions has called for a probe by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), but Gowdy and Goodlatte, said the appointment of a special prosecutor is more applicable in this case due to the OIG’s lack of authority to investigate or compel former employees to cooperate — due to key figures no longer serving in government— and the DOJ’s inability to investigate itself.

[RELATED: Reality Check: GOP Memo and FISA Problems]

“While we have confidence in the Inspector General for the Department of Justice, the DOJ IG does not have the authority to investigate other governmental entities or former employees of the Department, the Bureau, or other agencies,” Gowdy and Goodlatte wrote.

The committee chairmen added, “Some have been reluctant to call for the appointment of a Special Counsel because such an appointment should be reserved for those unusual cases where existing investigative and prosecutorial entities cannot adequately discharge those duties. We believe this is just such a case.”

A report by the Washington Times listed a number of U.S. government officials that signed off on the FISA warrant to surveil unpaid Trump campaign volunteer Carter Page: former FBI Director James B. Comey; former Deputy Director Andrew McCabe; former acting Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates; former acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente; and current Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein all signed off on applications to surveil Carter Page, who had been a Trump campaign adviser.

In an interview with Fox News, Gowdy explained that the discovery of new information was behind the call for a second independent counsel.

“What changed for me was the knowledge that there are two dozen witnesses that Michael Horowitz, the [DOJ] Inspector General, would not have access to,” Gowdy said. “When I counted up 24 witnesses that he would not be able to access were he to investigate it, yeah only one conclusion, that’s special counsel.”

When asked why a special counsel was needed, Gowdy explained, “Congress doesn’t have the tools to investigate this… we leak like the Gossip Girls.”

Democrats claimed that the request was simply political theater meant to distract from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

“I can understand why House Republicans hope that DOJ will swoop in and save them from this mess — but that is not what the Department of Justice is for,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.

Days prior to the letter from Gowdy and Goodlatte, thirteen House Republicans made a similar request, calling for the appointment of an independent counsel to investigate the same issues.

The letter from the thirteen Congressmen stated: “Evidence has come to light that raises serious concerns about decisions and activities by leadership at the highest levels of the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation regarding how and why the Clinton probe ended and how and why the Trump-Russia probe began.”

Calls for a second special counsel have grown in the wake of the House Intelligence Committee memo alleging the FBI relied on unvetted campaign opposition research, paid for by the Clinton campaign and the DNC, as evidence used to obtain secret warrants on Trump campaign officials.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX88suyFcVs

Editor’s Pick, Politics, Technology, US

Permanent Ban On Internet Access Taxation Approved By Congress

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On Tuesday, the House passed the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (PITFA), bipartisan legislation that would permanently prevent states from taxing internet access. The legislation was passed by a voice vote.

The first Internet Tax Freedom Act was a moratorium as part of Public Law 105-277, first signed by President Bill Clinton in 1998. Extensions to the moratorium have been passed five times, but the law was set to expire on October 1 if no further actions were to be taken.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), a sponsor of PITFA, said in a statement that making a ban on internet access taxation permanent promotes innovation. “If the moratorium is not renewed or made permanent, the potential tax burden on Americans would be substantial. It is estimated that Internet access tax rates could be more than twice the average rate of all other goods and services – and the last thing that Americans need is another tax bill on their doorsteps,” he said.

Some regions of states had already enacted taxes on internet access before the first moratorium was signed, including Hawaii, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Those regions have been allowed to continue taxing internet access under a grandfather clause, but they would no longer be allowed to do so if PITFA becomes law. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the loss of internet access tax revenue could total “several hundred million dollars annually.”

While a ban on taxing internet has received support, the debate over expanding power to tax purchases made online continues. When a similar permanent internet tax ban was passed by the House last year, an attempt was made by senators to pair it with an expansion of online sales taxes to create the Marketplace Fairness Act. That bill never made it out of Senate.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman, is expected to introduce a bill next Monday that would allow states to collect taxes from out-of-state online purchases.

National Journal reports that Goodlatte is a proponent of a limited online sales tax law, but has yet to support legislation that would compel online vendors to abide by sales tax codes that vary by state and municipality.