Democrats warn Trump officials to preserve records as they take control of Congress

Democrats set up probes of the White House

Projections on Tuesday night, 3 November, showed Democrats set to take control of the House and Senate after the midterm elections. Within hours, Democrats began planning investigations into President Donald Trump and the people and companies around him. Representative Robert Garcia of California, who is poised to chair the House Oversight Committee, issued a statement late on Tuesday telling people in the orbit of the administration to "lawyer up." Bloomberg reports that committees will use subpoena power to examine the administration, with Garcia and Representative Jamie Raskin leading the effort in the House. The party's sweeping win gives House and Senate Democrats a chance to set an agenda for the next two years.

Targets named by Democrats

The New York Times lists a $1.4 billion cryptocurrency windfall, well-timed stock trades and a wedding after-party bankrolled by a Kremlin-connected businessman among the potential scandals now in view. For nearly two years, congressional Democrats lacked the power to probe these matters. After Trump won back the White House, he dropped a first-term pledge to limit his family's deal making, and new ventures enriched the president, his sons and some of his advisers. He brushed aside conflict-of-interest concerns, saying he had "found out that nobody cared." In an interview with the Times on Wednesday, Garcia said his warning was aimed chiefly at White House officials who had engaged in corruption and enriched themselves.

“The Trump crime family is the top of our investigative priorities.”

Limits of subpoenas

Subpoenas will not guarantee a productive investigation. The Times reports that some of the president's business associates and allies are expected to challenge subpoenas in court, a process that could take a long time. It also notes there is no indication that the Trump family broke the law, which could complicate any push for impeachment proceedings against the president. Garcia and other congressional leaders nonetheless expect to find a rich set of targets in the family's business dealings.

Records warning to agencies

On Wednesday morning, 4 November, Representative Bobby Scott, the top Democrat on the House Committee on Education and Workforce and expected to chair it next year, sent a letter to leaders of 10 departments and agencies overseen by that committee. The recipients include the education, agriculture and labor departments, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Labor Relations Board. The letter cites the Federal Records Act of 1950 and asks for written confirmation that records have been preserved by 18 November. It warns that any official or employee who willfully and unlawfully conceals or destroys records could face a fine or up to three years in prison. The Guardian reports that the Department of Education alone has seen its workforce cut in half since Trump took office. Scott wrote:

“The American people have given Congress a clear mandate to root out waste, fraud and abuse within the Administration.”

When the new powers begin

The new Congress will have the power to hold hearings and issue subpoenas once it is sworn in, which means the investigations will move from warnings to formal action only after that date. Democrats have already begun preparing the groundwork, with Garcia and Raskin positioned to lead the House effort and Scott pressing agencies on their record keeping. The sequence of dates so far runs from the election night projections through the letter and toward the 18 November deadline for written confirmation.