House Oversight Committee: Forced to Consider Alternative Steps if Pentagon Does Not Comply (VIDEO)

According to Politico, The House Oversight Committee has been investigating expenditures made by the US military to Trump-owned businesses. 

Specifically, the Trump Turnberry golf resort and Glasgow Prestwick Airport nearby. 

As part of their investigation, the committee has sent requests to the Pentagon for documents and information on those expenditures but have never responded. 

In a statement made to the press, an aide said that if the Pentagon did not respond to the committee's request, they would be forced to take more drastic action:

“The Defense Department has not produced a single document in this investigation. The committee will be forced to consider alternative steps if the Pentagon does not begin complying voluntarily in the coming days.”

All federal departments, and/or individuals representing them under the Trump administration, have consistently ignored requests by Democratically-led Congressional committees in most of their investigations. 

At best, those who have shown up to committee hearings have refused to answer certain questions, have feigned ignorance or have cited executive privilege on behalf of President Trump. 

Overall, ignoring subpoenas has been a tactic that the President has enforced on his aides.

In late April, Trump and his family filed a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Capital One to prevent them from cooperating with Congress.

Their lawsuit was in response to subpoenas demanding that those banks turn over financial documents that reveal his tax returns.

The argument in the lawsuit is that Trump is being harassed, a rationale that is broken down more specifically by The New York Mag

In the end, these fights have been forced to go before the courts which have either been fast-tracked or are expected to stay in litigation for months or even years.  

Natasha Bertrand who reported on the investigation was on the Rachel Maddow Show saying that the committee would likely send subpoenas to The Pentagon by next week.

[Featured image of Trump Turnberry Golf Resort by St Andrews For Golf]

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