US: House panel opens far-reaching probe into Trump

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The House Judiciary Committee began Monday a sweeping investigation into U.S. President Donald Trump, his close associates and his top officials over allegations of abuse of power, corruption and obstruction of justice.

The committee sent requests for information to 81 agencies, entities, and individuals including Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his sons Eric and Donald, his short-lived National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the Chief Financial Officer of his business, Allen Weisselberg.

Trump's campaign, foundation, business and transition team, as well as the White House, have also received additional information requests.

"Over the last several years, President Trump has evaded accountability for his near-daily attacks on our basic legal, ethical, and constitutional rules and norms,” committee chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a 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.”

The White House said it received the committee's letter, and internal lawyers and officials will review and respond to it "at the appropriate time."

The investigation is seeking to examine a host of issues, including a meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016 between top members of Trump's campaign team, including Kushner and Donald Trump Jr., and a Russian woman who promised to provide the campaign with dirt on Trump's Democratic challenger, Hillary Clinton.

Nadler further requested information from American Media Inc., the owner of the National Enquirer tabloid magazine, and its CEO, David Pecker, over hush money payments made by Trump's former longtime lawyer Michael Cohen to help Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election.

Nadler's investigation could serve as a foundation for possible impeachment proceedings against Trump should the House decide to follow through on the matter.

Cohen testified before the House Oversight and Reform Committee last week, painting a picture of his former employer akin to that of a mob boss.

Asked whether he would cooperate with the committee's document request, Trump told reporters "I cooperate all the time with everybody."

"It’s a political hoax. There’s no collusion," he said at the White House.

The oversight committee separately gave the White House until Monday to respond to document requests regarding its clearance process after the New York Times reported that Trump had instructed Kushner be granted a clearance, overriding concerns from top aides.

Democratic Chairman Elijah Cummings began a probe into the White House's practices of granting clearances in January.

Cummings said the Monday deadline is the White House's last chance to comply voluntarily after it has failed to produce any of the documents requested by his committee.

Cummings could otherwise try to use a subpoena to acquire the materials, but doing so would almost certainly set off a legal battle with the White House over executive privilege.