Democrats pledge to expose ‘absolute avalanche of corruption’ under Donald Trump

Detailed summary

Congress member Jamie Raskin says he will launch sweeping probe of president and allies but warns party to avoid impeachment ‘distraction’ ...

One of the Democrats poised to lead US congressional investigations into Donald Trump has vowed to expose an “avalanche of corruption” but warned his party not to be distracted by efforts to impeach the president again.

Jamie Raskin, the Maryland Democrat expected to chair the US House judiciary committee in the next Congress, said his “overriding priority” would be to restore the “rule of law and constitutional government” as it launches probes into the Trump administration next year.

“We’re looking at the systemic corruption that has taken place, how it came about, who’s involved in it, and then what we need to do legislatively or constitutionally to prevent such a nightmare from ever happening again,” he said.

“We’ve seen the most breathtaking and outrageous conflicts of interest pervade the Trump administration, beginning at the top.”

But Raskin was clear that pursuing a third impeachment of the president could be a “distraction from public and legislative understanding of the rip-off schemes and fraud” he alleged had “overtaken” the administration.

Raskin’s comments came a week after his party won control of Congress in a midterm landslide seen as a rebuke of Trump’s agenda and signalled a confrontation that will dominate Washington in the coming months.

Polling in advance of the election showed corruption was a top concern for voters alongside the cost of living and the US war in Iran. Trump and his allies have repeatedly rejected accusations of self-dealing since he returned to office.

In a preview of the fight between Trump and a Democratic-led Congress, White House counsel Will Scharf on Wednesday told Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, that a “process designed merely to abuse or instil fear in the recipient may cross the line into blatant criminality”.

Garcia responded in a statement: “It appears Donald Trump has something to hide.”

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Irish Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.