What's At Stake Nov. 6th

News  |  Oct 19, 2018

While Democratic members of Congress are hesitant to talk about President Trump's possible impeachment, they are willing to discuss the many matters they plan to investigate should they win back the majority of either the House or Senate or both on November 6th. 

Reuters:

... [C]ongressional aides say Democrats would move quickly to obtain Trump’s tax returns to look for business ties to Russia and possible conflicts with the Republican president, his family businesses and U.S. government interests, along with a possible examination of his handling of security clearances.

(...)

Democratic majorities in the House or Senate would bring more money and staff for investigations that could derail or delay Trump’s agenda, but aides said Democrats will still aim for some bipartisan cooperation lest their push seem too overtly political ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

(...)

Democrats are poised to act on what they see as a “crisis of corruption in the Trump administration,” Democratic Representative Elijah Cummings told Reuters. “The waste, fraud and abuse is plain to see.”

If Democrats take the House, Cummings would likely be the chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, which can examine any federal agency, person or company.

Currently, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee under Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) is focused on trying to undermine the special counsel's Russia investigation

Probes into Trump would also be conducted by the House Judiciary Committee, the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. There is no plan for a special temporary committee, but Democratic leaders would coordinate investigative efforts with the heads of the committees, aides said.

The Ways and Means Committee would use its authority to request Trump’s tax returns from Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The judiciary and intelligence committees could then use the returns to dig into whether Trump got anything of value from foreigners or had business ties to Russia. 

Senate Democrats have a list of Trump-related concerns that runs about 100 pages, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Democratic victory in November would put Trump under microscope (Reuters)