House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) called the resolution “unnecessary, premature” and driven by politics. | AP Photo House GOP defeats resolution requesting Trump-Russia documents

Congressional Republicans killed a Democratic measure Tuesday to pressure the Trump administration to turn over documents detailing President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia, as well as conflicts of interest stemming from his business empire.

The measure, known as a “resolution of inquiry,” was defeated on an 18-16 party-line vote. The resolution would have requested that the Department of Justice provide Congress with “any document, record, memo, correspondence or other communication” related to “criminal or counterintelligence investigations” involving Trump or his White House staff.


House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) called the resolution “unnecessary, premature” and driven by politics. Instead, he said Republican members of the committee are drafting a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions requesting his voluntary cooperation in any investigation related to Russia and Trump’s business conflicts — with Democrats encouraged to sign on.

Other Republicans were harsher.

“This is just about politics and the hyperbole is thick enough to cut with a knife,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida freshman Republican. “In fact, what we are witnessing is that President Trump’s detractors are going through the stages of grief because Hillary Clinton lost and Donald Trump won.”

Though Republicans voted down the measure, the vote itself was a partial victory for Democrats, who forced many of the committee’s 23 Republicans into the uncomfortable position of rejecting a call for greater oversight of Trump’s potential conflicts.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who sponsored the resolution, had initially hoped to use obscure House rules to force a vote on the measure by the full House. But the Judiciary Committee intervened at the last minute, containing debate to the 40-member panel.

Resolutions of inquiry are rarely used in Congress — Goodlatte said just 71 had been lodged in the last 30 years — and Republicans emphasized they have no legal force. But if they’re not taken up by a committee within 14 business days, the sponsors can request a full House vote, a scenario GOP leaders avoided by acting Tuesday, the same day Trump was slated to address a joint session of Congress.

Democrats argued that their repeated calls for a more aggressive posture by Congress to investigate Trump had gone ignored, forcing them to resort to the little-used tactic.

“There is smoke and fire, so much so that I am overwhelmed,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas).

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the longest-serving member of the House, recalled efforts to impeach Richard Nixon, noting that many Republicans were opposed at the time, only to learn of Nixon’s crimes later.

“Each one of us has taken the oath to support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and to faithfully discharge the duties of the office,” Conyers said. “The resolution before us is an opportunity to be faithful to that oath.”

Other Democrats repeatedly referenced Watergate and Nixon as they advocated for the resolution.

Committee Republicans who voted against the measure included Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who chairs the House Oversight Committee and has come under pressure in his district to more aggressively investigate the Trump administration.

Another, Rep. Darrell Issa, last week called for a special prosecutor to probe Trump associates’ contacts with Russian officials. But Issa, who previously chaired the oversight panel and forcefully scrutinized the Obama administration, said it was too early for the House to attempt to force Trump’s Justice Department to turn over documents.

“Virtually without fail, my investigations began with letters, letters that asked to preserve documents, letters that made people aware that Congress was interested in something,” he said.

Issa urged Democrats to trust his reputation as a relentless investigator to gain a measure of faith that their questions about Russia will get answered.

“If they have attempted to distort our democracy, we must know it and we must stop it,” he said, emphasizing his personal involvement in drafting the letter to Sessions.

Nadler said earlier Tuesday that he expects Democrats on other committees to offer similar measures to force as many Republicans to vote as possible.

The hearing, packed with supporters of Nadler’s proposal, at times grew testy, as they cheered on Democrats and hissed at Republicans. Goodlatte, presiding over the hearing, threatened to remove the crowd. One attendee was told to leave after he shouted at Rep. Raul Labrador, who himself chided the crowd.

The Democratic push is intended to ratchet up pressure on Republicans to mount a meaningful probe into Trump and his potential business conflicts, which Democrats warn could violate the Constitution’s emoluments clause. Trump has declined to fully divest himself from his international business network and ethics watchdogs have argued that without full divestment, his decisions as president could become entangled with his business interests.

The move also keeps a spotlight trained on separate investigations into Trump’s associates’ ties to Russian operatives. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian agents intervened in the 2016 presidential election to benefit Trump, and Democrats are demanding probes into any collusion between Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

The Republican-controlled House and Senate Intelligence Committees are probing the matter, but Democrats have demanded an independent investigation.