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House Oversight Committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) has moved on the contempt vote for Wilbur Ross and William Barr after they refused to turn over census citizenship question documents.

Chairman Cummings said in a statement:

We gave Attorney General Barr and Secretary Ross every opportunity to produce the documents the Committee needs for our investigation, but rather than cooperate, they have decided that they would rather be held in contempt of Congress. They produced none of the documents we asked for, they made no counter-offers regarding these documents, and they seem determined to continue the Trump Administration’s cover-up.

The letters last night were case studies in double-speak. They claim that fighting witness interviews for months under threat of subpoena is evidence of a ‘good faith accommodations process,’ they suggest that Secretary Ross’ refusal to meet demonstrates that the Department ‘is eager to continue its cooperation with the Committee,’ and they argue that withholding every single one of the key unredacted documents we subpoenaed somehow proves that ‘there is no information to hide’.

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Contempt votes like the ones that Rep. Cummings is discussing get national attention. The contempt vote is broadcast on national television and allows Democrats to make their case to the American people about Trump criminality. The broader American public isn’t there yet on impeachment, but contempt votes and other public steps are a way to build the case against Trump.

Most Democrats are frustrated because they know the case against Trump, and they want impeachment, but the rest of the nation is not as informed as they are. Civil contempt will allow Democrats to sue Barr and Ross, but it is more valuable as a case building tool for the American people.

House Democrats are building the case for a cover-up, and behind that cover-up is the argument for impeachment.

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