2016 ELECTION/CLIMATE CHANGE/ETHICS/INTELLIGENCE/POLITICS/RUSSIA: “Senate Democrats are accusing the White House of purposely ignoring requests for information on issues ranging from the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in U.S. elections, to ethics waivers given to top officials and changes in environmental rules.
At issue are the routine requests that members of Congress make to federal agencies in pursuit of information about policy changes or the individual concerns of constituents. Each federal agency is staffed with personnel responsible for fielding inquiries and following up with lawmakers.
But Democratic senators are accusing the administration of instructing federal agencies to ‘refuse requests for information from Democratic members of Congress,’ according to a letter being sent to the White House on Wednesday and obtained by The Washington Post. Such a move ‘would be a significant departure from the practices of past Administrations and seriously inhibit Congress’s ability to fulfill its legislative and oversight duties.’
The letter asks President Trump to instruct agencies not to ignore Democratic requests for information and ensure that they’ll be answered ‘in a timely and consequential matter.’ “
-Ed O’Keefe, “In letter to Trump, Democrats accuse White House of intentionally withholding information,” The Washington Post online, May 24, 2017 5:00am