Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) went after his Republican colleagues who traveled to New York City this week to appear in former President Trump’s criminal trial.
The California Democrat notably skipped Thursday’s hearing on whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt, instead taking the issue to colleagues who attended Trump’s trial.
“Well, I’m glad that some of my colleagues on the other side are able to arrive today. I don’t know if that means there weren’t enough seats in the courtroom in New York,” Swalwell said. spoke at the public hearing. “But we do know that the Oversight Committee canceled a meeting that was scheduled to take place just now on the same issue in order to participate in the president’s trial.”
“Some members will miss this vote because they want to be present at the president’s trial. And what’s more important than missing the vote, canceling the hearing and going to the Capitol to watch? ‘I don’t think there’s anything that energizes the words ‘trial of a cult leader,”’ he continued. “That’s the definition of a ‘do-nothing Congress.'”
Republican politicians are traveling from Washington to New York City one after another to visit President Trump while he is on trial. The former president is accused of falsifying his business records in connection with a hush money scheme to cover up matters from his past just before the 2016 election.
At least nine Republicans visited Thursday. Representatives Matt Gaetz (Florida), Lauren Boebert (Colorado), Andy Biggs (Arizona), Mike Walz (Florida), and Eli Crane (Arizona) He was seen in the courtroom, as was Congressman Andy Ogles (R-Tennessee). ) Anna Paulina Luna (Florida), Ralph Norman (South Carolina), and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good (Virginia) were also seen at the Manhattan courthouse.
Gaetz and Biggs are members of the Judiciary Committee and were absent from Thursday’s hearing.
Law enforcement officials found Garland in contempt on a party-line vote of 18-15, arguing that the attorney general ignored a subpoena to produce recordings of interviews between President Biden and Special Counsel Robert Hur.
Garland said those who claim privilege “cannot be prosecuted for contempt of Congress,” but after Biden’s last-minute attempt to assert executive privilege over the audio recording of his interview, the Republican process I was not deterred.
The oversight committee is also expected to hold Garland in contempt at a hearing late Thursday night. The hearing was scheduled later to allow lawmakers time to return from New York, sources confirmed to The Hill.
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