The White House has reiterated that it “will not be extorted” by the investigations that the Congress may set in motion, which will be dominated by the Democrats in January after their comfortable victory in the recent midterm elections.
In a letter sent to the Democratic congressman Robert Garcia, the next president of the House of Representatives Oversight Commission, the U.S. government underscores that it “expects members of Congress to carry out their investigative functions within the constitutional limits established,” according to CNN.
“The Administration will not be extorted or intimidated by illegal procedures motivated by animosity, pettiness, hatred or any other unlawful motive that seeks to intimidate, punish or interfere with the legitimate functioning of the Government,” the White House has stressed, anticipating any eventual initiatives that may arise from the Legislative branch.
In this regard, the letter signed by the White House legal adviser, Will Scharf, warns that pressing or threatening Executive Branch officials to remove them from public service could entail “flagrant criminal conduct.”
From the Democratic ranks, they have promised an “energetic” oversight strategy, although the minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has insisted that there will be no score-settling against Trump and that the focus will be on “solving problems” for citizens.
As he noted after the electoral victory, which will allow the Democrats to control the committees with the power to open investigations, his party has the obligation to “follow the facts, apply the law, be guided by the Constitution and accept the consequences, whatever they are.”