"When he was elected the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee in June, Rep. Robert Garcia at once gained a powerful perch and a pressing problem. Colleagues elected Garcia with a mandate to hold President Donald Trump's administration to account. He'd pitched himself as an energetic personality who cared about good governance and accountability. But with Democrats locked out of power, he had few tools available to carry out his mission besides strongly worded letters to federal agencies and speeches during committee hearings."
"Then came a renewed burst of public attention to the case of Jeffrey Epstein and Trump's vow to release documents related to the late sex trafficker. As Republicans faced mounting public pressure from conservative activists and voters after Trump backtracked on that promise, Garcia saw an opening. If he can betray the American public about this, he can betray and lie to the public about anything, Garcia said in an interview with The Associated Press."
"How Democrats staged an ambush on Epstein issue Garcia in July coordinated Oversight Democrats to force a surprise vote on subpoenaing the Justice Department for documents related to Epstein and it worked. Republicans narrowly backed the subpoenas at a subcommittee hearing. Democrats similarly pushed Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., in August to subpoena the executors of the Epstein estate for documents."
"Garcia dismissed the first tranche of more than 33,000 documents from the Justice Department in September as inadequate, mostly public information that lacked a client list of Epstein's purported associates. The Epstein estate, meanwhile, provided a book of messages compiled for Epstein's 50th birthday. That book contained a poem and alleged signature from Trump with a sexually suggestive drawing."
Rep. Robert Garcia became top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee but lacked power tools beyond letters and hearings. Renewed public attention to Jeffrey Epstein and a promise by Trump to release documents created political pressure after Trump backtracked. Democrats coordinated surprise votes and subpoenas that won narrow Republican support and targeted the Justice Department and Epstein estate executors. The Justice Department produced over 33,000 documents that Garcia called largely public and inadequate, while the Epstein estate supplied a 50th-birthday message book that included a poem and an alleged Trump signature with a sexually suggestive drawing.
Read at www.twincities.com
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