All articles tagged with #congressional inquiry
The House Oversight Committee plans to meet with accusers of Jeffrey Epstein, highlighting ongoing investigations into his sex trafficking case despite efforts by the Trump administration to limit information release, with some lawmakers pushing for the declassification of related files.
Steward Health Care's financial struggles have sparked discussions about the role of for-profit companies in healthcare, with lawmakers and officials expressing concern over the potential closure of its Massachusetts hospitals. The company's executives have indicated plans to exit the state, citing financial losses and blaming low reimbursement rates for Medicare and Medicaid patients. Congressional representatives are seeking answers about the company's finances and future plans, while some analysts point to significant debts and a complex real estate arrangement as contributing factors to Steward's difficulties.
Rep. Chris Deluzio, a Democrat in Congress, has called for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's resignation after Austin hid his surgery to treat prostate cancer from the White House and his subordinates. Austin failed to communicate his inability to fulfill his duties after being hospitalized, leading to concerns about the continuity of the chain of command. Deluzio's call for resignation comes amid a congressional inquiry into the incident, with some Republican lawmakers also urging for Austin's removal from office.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's secretive hospitalization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for "complications following a recent elective medical procedure" may have violated reporting laws, leading to calls for a congressional inquiry and criticism from both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Austin's failure to inform the White House of his condition for three days and potential breaches of protocol for high-ranking cabinet officials have raised concerns about his handling of the situation, but he is expected to face only a reprimand from President Joe Biden.
A congressional inquiry has revealed that three of the largest pharmacy chains in the US, CVS Health, Kroger, and Rite Aid, have been providing prescription records to law enforcement without requiring a warrant, raising concerns about patient privacy. The other five pharmacy groups, Walgreens, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart, and Amazon, stated that they do require a legal review before releasing such information. The inquiry found that pharmacies receive tens of thousands of legal requests annually for patient records, with the majority being submitted in connection with civil litigation. Lawmakers are urging the Health and Human Services Department to strengthen regulations under HIPAA to align with privacy expectations and constitutional principles.
Harvard, M.I.T., and the University of Pennsylvania are facing a congressional investigation, withdrawal of a $100 million donation, and calls for the resignation of their presidents over their handling of antisemitism on campus. The universities' responses to questions about disciplining students for calling for the genocide of Jews have sparked accusations of inadequate action and even fostering antisemitism. A House committee has opened an investigation into the institutions, and demands for disciplinary procedures and leadership changes have been made. The universities' presidents have faced criticism for their handling of the issue, with donors threatening to withdraw funding and politicians calling for their resignation.
A Brazilian hacker testified before a congressional inquiry that former President Jair Bolsonaro asked him to hack into voting machines and offered to pardon him if caught. The hacker explained that the plan was to create a fake code to expose the machines' vulnerabilities, but it couldn't proceed due to limited access to the source code. Bolsonaro's defense team denied the allegations, and the testimony comes after he was barred from running for office until 2030 for abusing his power during the previous election campaign. The inquiry was established following riots in January 2023 against the election results.
Tax preparation companies such as TaxAct, H&R Block, and TaxSlayer have been found to have shared taxpayers' data with Big Tech companies like Meta and Google through tracking pixels on their websites, potentially violating privacy laws. A congressional report revealed the extent of this data collection and sharing, highlighting the lack of privacy regulations in place. The report called for investigations and prosecutions of companies that broke the law, as well as the expansion of the IRS' free, direct-file program to protect taxpayers' privacy. The tax prep companies claimed that the data shared was anonymized, but the report found that it could be reidentified. Comprehensive privacy legislation and direct e-filing with the IRS could help address these privacy concerns.
An IRS whistleblower who claims to have information about alleged mishandling and political interference in the ongoing criminal probe into Hunter Biden has been removed from the investigation into the president’s son, attorneys for the whistleblower have told key congressional lawmakers. The whistleblower’s investigative team has also been taken off the case, according to a copy of the letter obtained by CNN. The attorneys added that the whistleblower was “informed the change was at the request of the Department of Justice.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has filed a lawsuit against Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, seeking to block elements of the congressional inquiry into his case against former President Donald Trump. Bragg's suit asked the court to block Jordan's subpoena of former Assistant DA Mark Pomerantz, which would cause "imminent irreparable harm if the secret and privileged material is compelled to be disclosed." Jordan's subpoena is an unconstitutional attempt to undermine an ongoing New York felony criminal prosecution and investigation, Bragg said.
The New York District Attorney's office investigating former President Donald Trump called Republican requests for its documents and testimony "an unprecedent inquiry into a pending local prosecution." Earlier this week, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, House Oversight Committee Chair Jim Comer, R-Ky., and House Administration Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wisc., sent Bragg a letter demanding documents, communications and testimony related to his investigation of the former president. In response, the General Counsel for the District Attorney of New York County Leslie Dubeck wrote Thursday that the congressional request suggested their inquiry is designed to "punish" the office for its investigation, and "is therefore indefensible."
The Manhattan District Attorney's office has criticized House Republicans for launching an "unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution" and defended the investigation into former President Donald Trump's alleged hush money payments to an adult film actress during the 2016 campaign. The office accused the Republicans of lacking a "legitimate basis for congressional inquiry" and said their requests for information "only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene." The office requested that the committees meet and confer with Bragg's office to discuss whether the House has a "legitimate legislative" purpose for what it is seeking and whether those records could be turned over without infringing on New York's sovereign interests.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office rejected House GOP chairs' demands for sensitive details about his investigation of former President Donald Trump, calling it "unlawful." Bragg's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, wrote that the newly launched GOP probe is "an unprecedented inquiry into a pending local prosecution." Dubeck indicated that Bragg's office had adopted the Justice Department's longstanding position to refuse to provide Congress with details of ongoing criminal investigations. The senior Republicans' request for information raises unusual questions about the scope of Congress' jurisdiction over state and local criminal matters.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has called demands from House GOP leaders to force his testimony an “unlawful incursion” on his ongoing probe into former President Trump’s role in a hush money scandal. Bragg’s response comes as the Manhattan grand jury assembled in the case is no longer expected to hear evidence on the matter on Thursday, delaying their next meeting on the matter until Monday.