President Trump on Monday vowed to cooperate with the extensive document requests that House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D., N.Y.) sent Monday to dozens of Trump associates and businesses, despite his belief that they collectively represent a politically motivated “hoax.”
“I cooperate all the time with everybody. . . . You know the beautiful thing — no collusion. It’s all a hoax,” Trump told reporters at the White House, according to the press-pool report.
Trump’s comments came after Nadler, wielding congressional subpoena power, requested documents from 81 individuals and organizations associated with the president, including the Trump Organization, the Trump inaugural committee and campaign, the Trump foundation, the White House, the Department of Justice, and dozens of Trump’s aides, family members, and informal advisers.
“We will act quickly to gather this information, assess the evidence, and follow the facts where they lead with full transparency with the American people,” Nadler said in his Monday statement. “This is a critical time for our nation, and we have a responsibility to investigate these matters and hold hearings for the public to have all the facts. That is exactly what we intend to do.”
BREAKING: @HouseJudiciary has sent document requests to the following people and entities related to its investigation into the alleged obstruction of justice, public corruption, and abuses of power by President Trump, his associates, and members of his administration. pic.twitter.com/iizBIqTNwf
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) March 4, 2019
The Judiciary Committee is one of several House panels that plans to investigate Trump’s businesses and conduct since taking office. In addition to examining Trump’s past business dealings and his continued relationship with his family businesses, Nadler will reportedly focus on Trump’s conduct since taking office, including whether his firing of former FBI director James Comey constituted obstruction of justice.
Nadler and fellow Democratic leaders have resisted discussing the possibility of impeachment publicly, but have suggested that the many ongoing investigations into possible obstruction of justice and corruption will ultimately prove useful come the 2020 election. Nadler can issue subpoenas if the White House or other entities and individuals refuse his document request, but Trump can exert executive privilege to protect some of those documents, such as his communications with top aides.