Collins statement on Lewandowski oversight

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, made the following opening statement at today’s oversight hearing.  Ranking Member Collins said, “Welcome, everybody, to the first hearing under the chairman’s new rules, which were rammed through committee last week.  Welcome to Fantasy Island, where a rogue committee can ignore the will of the House of Representatives and the express wishes of the American people. Now, nothing stops the chairman from calling this whatever he wants. I can say my shirt is green all day long, but I don’t expect observers to believe me any more than Democrats should ask people to believe this hearing means that the impeachment train is actually leaving the station. I suspect the chairman will not convince a court to ratify his semantic games either or award this committee with special privileges that come when the House of Representatives — which represents the American people — actually authorizes an impeachment inquiry.  In the absence of a floor vote, today’s business represents a regular oversight hearing, albeit one masquerading as impeachment to appease the liberal base. Now, this committee is certainly within its rights to hold oversight hearings, and we’ve held plenty over these past several months. One hearing had as its star witness John Dean, a convicted-felon-turned-TV-pundit who used his appearance to reinvigorate a sleepy cable career. In July, of course, we heard from Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who simply confirmed that his report — available to the public for months — was his testimony and that his investigation hadn’t been hindered in any way. Despite these hearings and Special Counsel Mueller’s warnings about Russian interference, this committee still has not held a hearing to examine legislation to prevent Russian election interference. I have asked the chairman twice in writing to hold such a hearing, but, so far, he has not.  In reality, this committee has done close to nothing to substantively advance the ball with its so-called “investigation.” It has failed to follow up with the vast majority of witnesses it first contacted in March. As a result of the committee’s March inquisition, the committee has in its possession close to zero documents that had not been already provided to Congress in other oversight matters. The committee has conducted one single deposition in over six months, and it got the Democrats nothing new. In fact, the only success this committee has had is in issuing nearly a dozen subpoenas to the administration and its associates — a rate of issuance 40 times faster than the previous chairman. The committee is also leading the way in filing lawsuits, but not, as Democrats claim, because the committee can’t otherwise get the information it wants. No, the lawsuits were filed because the committee can’t get the information it wants into the public eye. The chairman does not want to interview Don McGahn behind closed doors. His desire is a public spectacle.  That’s what this is all about: public hearings, lots of flash bulbs, and embarrassing this president. Today is not about gathering facts — not investigating — and certainly not about fairness. Just look at what the committee has in store for upcoming hearings: a hearing on emoluments and a hearing on pardons. Both hearings are the result of unsourced and unverified allegations. Every time a new allegation comes out against this president, committee Democrats rush to highlight gossip and neglect to deliver actual evidence. There is no rhyme or reason to what this committee is doing. We are jumping from one allegation to the next, gathering no useful or new information along the way. If it implicates the president, no accusation is too baseless to merit a hearing. Despite the chairman’s consistent claim that the president is fighting all his subpoenas, today we have before us Corey Lewandowski, the president’s former campaign manager. Mr. Lewandowski has previously testified voluntarily before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He has previously testified voluntarily before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He has previously testified voluntarily before the Special Counsel’s Office, and every member here has had access to the FBI summary of that interview for months.  Yet, instead of inviting Mr. Lewandowski to testify voluntarily before this committee, the chairman subpoenaed him, and, despite that unnecessary provocation, Mr. Lewandowski is here and willing to answer our questions, which I suspect he will be hearing for the third or fourth time, and to which I suspect he will be giving the same answers a third and fourth time. Today’s charade is yet another waste of time and money. Our constituents sent us all here to do a job — secure our borders and keep our intellectual property safe from China’s theft. That job was to come up with legislation to actually solve core issues and save lives while preserving Americans’ Second Amendment rights. That job was to create a suitable business environment for small businesses to thrive. That job is not to pretend to impeach the president while the cameras are rolling. The vast majority of Americans oppose that move and wish Democrats would legislate rather than allow the most progressive corners of their base to lead this institution over a cliff.”