The likely next chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is demanding the Justice Department and FBI answer outstanding requests made by Democrats before the 2018 midterm elections.
In a letter to acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., asked that the backlog of requests be answered before Democrats take control of the House in January.
“As you are no doubt aware, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have written over one hundred letters to the Trump Administration, including the Department of Justice and the FBI, concerning legitimate oversight matters that fall within our jurisdiction,” Nadler wrote. “To date, we have received no substantive response to these communications.”
Nadler called the outstanding requests “highest priority” and said he hoped Whitaker and Wray would talk with him about them “over the coming days.”
The request comes after Whitaker assumed the position of acting attorney general last week following the ouster of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Whitaker has taken over oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein — which has Democrats worried that he will use the new position to squeeze Mueller at the request of President Trump.
Nadler cites three letters sent in 2017 and a handful of other outstanding letters sent in 2018 that have gone unanswered.
Some of those requests Nadler singles out include a June 2017 letter sent to Sessions asking him to provide information regarding his recusal from the Russia investigation, a letter in February requesting a briefing by Wray on the memo written by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee, and a letter sent last week to Whitaker and Wray asking for the preservation of all documents related to Mueller’s investigation and Sessions’ firing.
Nadler asked that the documents be turned over by Dec. 31 — just days before Democrats take the reigns from the GOP.
