Today, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s latest comments attacking the Department of Justice and directly calling on the Department to refrain from criminal prosecutions for partisan political purposes, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) demanded the Committee immediately proceed to executive session ahead of the Committee’s markup of the Permitting Litigation Efficiency Act of 2018 (H.R. 5468) to discuss an appropriate response to the President's dangerous comments. 

Ranking Member Nadler delivered the following remarks, as prepared:

"Mr. Chairman, before I begin my statement, I must make an urgent request.

"On Monday, President Trump took to Twitter to attack Attorney General Sessions.  He stated: 'Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department.'

"He continued: 'Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time.  Good job Jeff.'

"Let us set aside the fact that these two prosecutions are not “Obama era” investigations.  Let us also set aside, for the moment, the cloud of corruption that seems to follow this President and his staunchest supporters.

"This is not the first time that President Trump has attacked his own Department of Justice.  He has publicly humiliated Attorney General Sessions before.  He has accused federal investigators of political bias when, by all appearances, they were simply following the facts and the law.  And he has already commented publicly on an ongoing criminal investigation, without regard to how his comments may influence the outcome of the case or the fair administration of justice.

"But this is the first instance, as far as I know, where he has directly called for the Justice Department to initiate or refrain from prosecutions for partisan political reasons.  In a democratic society, we cannot tolerate political decisions prosecutions.

"This Committee must address the President’s inappropriate behavior now, Mr. Chairman. 

"Our response to the President’s reckless accusations should take precedence over almost everything else on our calendar—and it certainly takes precedence over the “Permitting Litigation Efficiency Act of 2018.”

"I understand that these two criminal cases involve our colleagues, and that we should exercise discretion in discussing President Trump’s reaction to these particular charges.  Nevertheless, we must have this discussion today.

"Accordingly, I now move that the Committee immediately proceed to executive session pursuant to House Rule XI so that we can discuss this matter in private and develop an appropriate response to the President’s dangerous comments."

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