Constitution
Today, House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) reintroduced the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2017 (VRAA), which would fully restore and modernize the original Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 to reflect today's societal needs and challenges.
Earlier today, the Department of Justice released a redacted copy of Attorney General Jeff Sessions's application for a security clearance in response to a lawsuit filed by watchdog group American Oversight. The form asks if Sessions "had any contact with a foreign government, its establishment . . . or its representatives, whether inside or outside the U.S."
Mr. Sessions responded: "No."
Today, all seventeen Democratic members of the House Committee on the Judiciary wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions to request information about his decision to abruptly settle United States v. Prevezon Holdings Ltd, a money laundering case that the Department of Justice (DOJ) abruptly settled that involved Russia sanctions, New York real estate holdings, and the lawyer who met with Donald Trump Jr.
Today, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and Judiciary Committee Democrats sent letters to the National Association of Secretaries of State and the National Association of State Election Directors raising concerns that recent requests of them from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the White House voter fraud commission (Commission) may lead to voter suppression and privacy violations.
Today, all Democrats on the House Committees on Oversight and Government Reform and Judiciary sent a letter to the Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz requesting an investigation into whether Attorney General Jeff Sessions violated his recusal when he participated in President Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Shadawn Reddick-Smith
(202) 225-6906
House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and Subcommittee on Immigration Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) today released the following joint statement after the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would take up Trump's Muslim and Refugee ban:
Witnesses
Devon McDonald
Chief of Staff and General Counsel, Indiana Criminal Justice Institute
Liz Ryan
President and CEO, Youth First
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maria McElwain (Blumenthal)
(202) 224-6452
Shadawn Reddick-Smith (Conyers)
(202) 225-6906
Witnesses
Andrew Grossman
Partner, Baker & Hosteler LLP
David Hubbert
Acting Assistant Attorney General, Tax Division
Today, U.S. Congressman David N. Cicilline (D-RI), Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) introduced a bill to repeal the Congressional Review Act, a measure Republicans have exploited this year to overturn public health, environmental, and consumer protections while advancing special interests.
Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement in response to Trump abruptly firing FBI Director James Comey:
In a signing statement issued on May 5th concerning the omnibus spending bill, Donald Trump indicated he may no longer fund a decades old program that helps finance construction projects for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, asserting they "allocate benefits on the basis of race, ethnicity, and gender," and that his administration would treat those programs "in a manner consistent with the requirement to afford equal protection of the law under the Due Process Clause of the Constitution's Fifth Amendment."'
Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) and Committee on the Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (MI-13) issued the following statement after President Trump signed an executive order on the National Day of Prayer, that allegedly promotes "religious liberty":
Yesterday, following a chemical attack on civilians attributed to the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, United States military forces launched a missile strike on a Syrian airbase. Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, issued the following statement in response:
"There is no question that the United States must do more to relieve the suffering of the civilians trapped in Syria's civil war.
"But before we can debate the wisdom of a single unilateral strike on a Syrian air field, President Trump must answer a number of threshold answers:
Witnesses
David Hudson
Ombudsman, First Amendment Center
Ken Klukowski
Senior Counsel & Director of Strategic Affairs, First Liberty Institue
On Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 10:30AM, Members of the U.S. House of Representatives will hold a forum entitled, "Civil Rights Under the Trump Administration-The First 100 Days."
Today, Reps. Bobby Scott (VA-03), John Conyers (MI-13), Bennie Thompson (MS-02), and Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), the Ranking Members of the Committees on Education and the Workforce, Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, respectively, sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly asking them to remind public schools that they are still required to educate undocumented children, despite recent changes to immigration policies.