Constitution

Detroit, MI – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) released the following statement after the Architect of the Capitol removed Untitled #1, the winning entry from Missouri's 1st congressional district in the 2016 Congressional Art Competition following criticism of the artwork by Speaker Ryan and several GOP Members of Congress:

House Judiciary Dems Press Comey for Existence of Russian Hacking Investigation

Washington, D.C. (Jan. 12, 2017)- House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. joined Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the top Ranking Democratic Members of 21 House Committees in sending a letter urging House Speaker Paul Ryan to join them in demanding documents about President-Elect Donald Trump's worldwide business dealings:

Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) and House Judiciary Subcommittee Ranking Members Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (D-GA), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Steve Cohen (D-TN), called on the United States Department of Justice and the United States Office of Government Ethics to review concerns of nepotism and conflicts of interest arising from President-elect Donald Trump's appointment of his son-in-law Jared Kushner.

House Judiciary Committee Democrats Letter to DOj and Ethics on Kushner

Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) joined Congresswoman Katherine Clark and Democratic members of Congress to introduce bills in the U.S. House and Senate that would require the President and Vice President to disclose and divest any potential financial conflicts of interest.

Background: House Judiciary Committee Democrats today released a letter led by former constitutional law professor and newly elected Congressman Jamie Raskin and signed by more than 35 law professors and scholars from across the country, which expresses constitutional concerns over Republican leadership's proposal to allow administrative officers to impose fines on Members of Congress for using an electronic device to photograph or record House floor proceedings. This proposal is part of a rules package that will come to the House floor today and is an apparent reaction to the Democratic sit-in on the House floor last June.

Letter from Professors and Scholars on House GOP Streaming Ban Proposal

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), House Committee on Rules Ranking Member Louise Slaughter (D-NY), House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution Ranking Member Steve Cohen (D-TN), and Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Ranking Member, and former chair of the Subcommittee on the Constitution Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) today released a joint statement on the proposed Republican Rules package, which, among other things, would delegate to the Sergeant-at-Arms the authority to impose fines of up to $2,500 per offense against any Member who uses an electronic device to photograph or record House floor proceedings.

Conyers & Jackson Lee Letter to DOJ and FBI re: Russian Hacking

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, issued the following statement today regarding President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security:

House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security, issued the following statement today regarding President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Marine Gen. John Kelly to lead the Department of Homeland Security:

I want to thank the Members and panelists for participating in today's forum on the Electoral College. We are holding this panel because recent elections and public sentiment have made it clear that there are serious problems with the present system for electing our President and Vice President.

We begin with the fact that Hillary Clinton received more than 2.5 million more popular votes than Donald Trump -- the largest divergence between the popular and electoral votes in our Nation's history. This constitutes the very definition of anti-democratic.

NSEERS Letter 12.1.16

After President-elect Donald Trump's vague announcement this morning to leave his "…great business in total...," all sixteen Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee wrote today to Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) to request that the Committee hold hearings to examine the federal conflicts-of-interest and ethics provisions that may apply to the President of the United States.

Yesterday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) would be his choice for U.S. Attorney General. We need an Attorney General who represents the American people's best interests by fighting to strengthen voting rights, prevent violence against women, and work to reform our broken immigration system, among other priorities. Senator Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 following a history of racially-charged comments and disturbing attitudes towards minority groups; and his record since only furthers cause for concern.

This morning, President-elect Donald Trump announced that U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) would be his choice for Attorney General. We need an Attorney General who represents the American people's best interests by fighting to strengthen voting rights, prevent violence against women, and work to reform our broken immigration system, among other priorities. Senator Sessions was denied a federal judgeship in 1986 following a history of racially-charged comments and disturbing attitudes towards minority groups; and his record since only furthers cause for concern.

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States constituted the deadliest foreign attack on American soil in our Nation's history.

Their impact has been immeasurable as evidenced by the fact that we are still grappling with their cultural and policy implications.

And, 15 years later, their powerful emotional effect on Americans remains as strong as ever.

Those who lost loved ones or were injured as a result of this horrific attack deserve our deepest sympathy and our help.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), leaders of the bipartisan Policing Strategies Working Group, today issued the following joint statement on the police-involved shootings in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Charlotte, North Carolina and subsequent protests:

In Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court recognized a woman's constitutional right to make what is perhaps the most profoundly personal of healthcare decisions –when to start a family – free from undue government interference.

Unfortunately, since 1976, Congress has sought to undermine this important constitutional right by attaching the so-called "Hyde Amendment" to annual appropriations measures funding the Department of Health and Human Services.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Commissioner Koskinen, for joining us today on short notice, under these unusual circumstances.

Last week, a handful of my colleagues attempted to force a vote on your impeachment. When it appeared that they would fall short of the necessary votes, that effort was abandoned-and this hearing was scheduled instead.

"Under the modern practice, an impeachment is normally instituted by the House by the adoption of a resolution calling for a committee investigation. This committee may, after investigation, recommend the dismissal of charges or it may recommend impeachment."[1] The effort to impeach Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen contains none of the hallmarks of actual impeachment hearings-which would entail an independent investigation and due process for the accused.

The Impeachment Process:

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

10:00 a.m. Full Committee Hearing

Impeachment Articles Referred on John Koskinen, Part III

Witness:

• The Honorable John Koskinen, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service

  2237 Rayburn House Office Building

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

10:00 a.m. Full Committee Hearing

Oversight of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Witness:

• The Honorable Sarah Saldaña, Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement