Constitution
ON FRIDAY, September 8th, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a forum entitled "Affirmative Action, Inclusion, and Racial Climate on America's Campuses." Amidst national conversations on white supremacy, xenophobia, and racial inequality, reports surfaced suggesting that the Trump Administration has plans to reexamine the values of racial diversity on campuses.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13) today gave the following statement during the hearing of H.Res. 488, a resolution of inquiry regarding Jeff Sessions' recusal and James Comey firing
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
As you noted, we will now consider virtually the same resolution we visited before the recess.
It may be useful to review how the Committee arrived at this point.
Since President Trump took office, my colleagues and I have written to the Administration at least 20 times-on matters ranging from routine oversight to allegations of obstruction of justice.
Today, House Judiciary Committee Republicans doubled down on their neglect of conducting oversight of the Trump Administration by sabotaging a markup of Representatives David Cicilline (RI-01) and Pramila Jayapal's (WA-07) resolution of inquiry that requested the Trump Administration to release information pertaining to the firing of FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Sessions' involvement in that decision.
Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA), ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), ranking member of the House Committee on Judiciary, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos about a recent memo that showed intent of the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Educati
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) filed an amicus brief today in support of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington's (CREW) effort to hold President Trump accountable for his ongoing violations of the Foreign Emoluments Clause. Blumenthal and Conyers are the lead plaintiffs in a separate effort to compel the President to comply with the Constitution' critically important anti-corruption measure.
More than 50 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee, Armed Services Committee, and the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus today wrote to Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. to urge that they not comply with any unconstitutional directive to ban transgender individuals from serving in the United States military.
Today's letter was led by House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA). In addition to the letter, Reps. Conyers, Smith, Nadler, and Cicilline released the following statement:
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On July 24, 2017, Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN), Mark Sanford (R-SC), House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) hosted a bipartisan forum on freedom of the press entitled, "The State of Press Freedom in 21st Century America."
Representatives Bobby Scott (VA-03) and John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), the ranking members of the House Committees on Education and the Workforce and the Judiciary, respectively, issued the following statement after reports surfaced that the Department of Justice plans to attack and undermine affirmative action programs in colleges and universities.
Text of Legislation
Amendments
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13) today gave the following statement during the hearing of H.R. 391, the "The Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act."
H.R. 391, the "Asylum Reform and Border Protection Act," is unfortunately yet another anti-immigrant measure premised on rhetoric and misinformation.
Notwithstanding the bill's short title, H.R. 391 does nothing to reform our Nation's asylum system. In fact, it dismantles it.
This assault on our asylum system is predicated on the unsubstantiated belief that it is rife with fraud and abuse.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13) today gave the following statement during the hearing of H.Res. 446, a resolution of inquiry regarding Jeff Sessions' recusal and James Comey firing
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Members of the Committee, House Resolution 446-offered by the Gentlewoman from Washington, Mrs. Jayapal, and the Gentleman from Rhode Island, Mr. Cicilline-is an important measure.
I support it, and urge my colleagues to do the same.
The Markup Will Stream Live Here
On Wednesday, July 26, 2017, the House Judiciary Committee will consider Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and David Cicilline's (RI-01) resolution of inquiry requesting the Trump administration to release any and all information pertaining to Attorney General Sessions' involvement in the firing of FBI Director James Comey in violation of his recusal and related matters. The full text of the Resolution of Inquiry can be found here.
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13) today gave the following statement during the hearing of H.R. 2887, the "No Regulation Without Representation Act of 2017."
Before I begin my remarks, I'd like to take a moment to recognize Joseph Ehrenkrantz for his dedicated service to the House of Representatives. Over the past two years, he has diligently served the House Judiciary Committee as a Professional Staff Member.
On Monday, July 24, 2017 at 3:00 p.m., Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN), Mark Sanford (R-SC), and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) will host a bipartisan forum on freedom of the press entitled, "The State of Press Freedom in 21st Century America."
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides, among other things, that "Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom . . . of the press . . . ." A free press is a critical check on the power of government institutions and public officials, yet press freedom may be under threat from various sources.
Yesterday, in an interview with the New York Times, President Donald Trump indicated his contempt for the leadership of the Department of Justice. The President directly attacked the credibility and fairness of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
Ahead of Trump's voter commission's first meeting, the Congressional Black Caucus and House Judiciary Committee Democrats will host a forum on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 3p.m. to examine voting rights and privacy concerns related to recent requests made by the commission's co-chair, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.