Justin Amash Joins Democrats Again, Votes to Hold Bill Barr and Wilbur Ross in Contempt

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Jun 13, 2019

Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) continued his left-ward turn today when he voted with the Democrats in the House Oversight Committee to hold Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in contempt for refusing to surrender documents related to the census.

The Oversight Committee voted 24-15 in favor of holding Ross and Barr in contempt as apart of their latest witch hunt, with Amash being the only Republican to join the Democrats and vote for the measure. It will now go to the House floor for consideration.

Barr and Ross are under fire from desperate Democrats and Republican defector Amash because the administration, citing executive privilege, has refused to comply with subpoenas regarding the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 US Census.

“Despite more than two months since we issued the subpoenas and more than a week since we told the agencies we were moving to contempt, the agencies have made no commitment or counter-offer regarding any of the critical documents in our subpoenas,” a spokesman for Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said.

The Trump administration and Congressional Republican leaders are calling the Democrats’ request invasive and uncalled for.

“These documents are protected from disclosure by the deliberative process, attorney-client communications, or attorney work product components of executive privilege,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to Cummings (D-Md.).

“Regrettably, you have made these assertions necessary by your insistence upon scheduling a premature contempt vote,” Boyd added.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), the highest-ranking Republican on the Oversight Committee, claimed Cummings’ decision was a “misuse of the committee’s contempt authority” and “another act of political theater.”

Ross blasted Cummings and the Democrats as well for their unprofessional behavior to divide the country for partisan political gains.

“The Democrats have continued to attack this administration on dubious grounds, and they aren’t going to let the facts get in the way of their own concocted stories,” Ross said.

“By holding a contempt vote, the committee has already demonstrated its scorn for the Constitution, continually refusing to engage in the constitutionally-mandated accommodation process. That is far more serious than the empty stunt the committee performed today,” he added.

Amash, a libertarian who supports open borders, is assisting the Democrats as they attempt to shield non-citizens from the consequences of breaking the law. Amash is on the record supporting voting rights for non-citizens.

He has garnered so much contempt from his own constituents that a grassroots “Squash Amash” rally is scheduled for Friday outside of his Grand Rapids office.