Exclusive: The chairman of the House committee with oversight of small business and commerce issues sent a scathing letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) on Friday outlining how the agency allegedly failed to fully produce documents requested in a subpoena.
Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams previously said the S.B.A. Biden Executive Orders of 2021 Entering into a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State regarding “promoting access to voting.”
Williams said the way the memorandum was implemented was controversial and potentially unconstitutional, and he and other lawmakers have previously accused the SBA of using it to funnel money to battleground states in a partisan manner. Williams previously said the SBA was “diverting money from Main Street support to help register Democrats in Michigan.”
Williams sent a letter to SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman on Friday criticizing the agency’s “insufficient production of documents pursuant to the Committee’s July 30, 2024 subpoena.”
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Committee on Small Business Chairman Roger Williams (right) has accused President Biden of using the Small Business Administration as a campaign tool. (Getty Images)
Williams demanded, and later issued subpoenas, travel itineraries and other key documents for agency employees as he investigated whether the SBA’s activities under the memorandum were indeed partisan or more serious.
“Since the Committee’s initial request on March 20, 2024, SBA has submitted approximately 500 pages of documents, the majority of which consist of no more than a single email exchange. Moreover, approximately 20 percent of the documents SBA has submitted do not respond to the Committee’s requests at all,” the letter continued.
“It remains unclear why SBA delayed production and wasted time producing documents that were not responsive to the Committee’s requests or were duplicative.”
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Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams is taking aim at a partnership started by the Michigan Department of State and Small Business Administration Administrator Isabel Guzman. (Getty Images)
In May, the SBA also filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for similar documents, which led to a simultaneous lawsuit from the Oversight Project, a conservative group that monitors government transparency.
Plaintiff Mike Howell said in his motion that the documents requested “represent a matter of widespread and exceptional media interest that may affect the public’s confidence in the government’s integrity.”
Williams said in Friday’s letter that the SBA has not provided “any calendar” despite the subpoena, nor has it provided any documentation of an “implementation plan” for voter outreach efforts as required by another order from Biden.
Williams also said he was aware of the other FOIA lawsuit mentioned above, in which the intelligence community demonstrated that such documents existed.
According to a source familiar with the committee’s work, government officials have accused the committee of making unfounded allegations about the investigation and said it is trying to cover up election activities.
Williams told Fox News Digital on Friday that he remains disappointed with the SBA’s response, saying it has been woefully inadequate.
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“Instead of cooperating with Congress in its basic oversight, the SBA has once again provided documents that do not address our requests, despite their claims. With less than three months until the presidential election, our investigation is more important than ever,” Williams said.
“Let me be clear: this committee will not stop until we end the SBA’s misuse of taxpayer funds and refocus them on their mission to support Main Street.”
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who was not a party to the letter but has been a key voice in the Senate on the issue, said if the agency has done nothing wrong, it should welcome “the opportunity to share its work.”
“There’s a very simple solution to this: the SBA needs to stop playing games and be completely transparent.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the SBA for comment but did not receive a response before publication.
Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report..
