An Open Letter to Senator Dick Durbin

I have some things I'd like to see happen in the lame duck session.

Dear Senator Durbin,

I’m glad to see that you’re demanding the House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz after his suspiciously-timed resignation from Congress to avoid the release of the report pending his nomination to Attorney General. Thank you for speaking out on the matter, as I, too agree that this report must see the light of day during potential confirmation hearings.

There are two more things I would like to ask you to consider.

First, consider inviting Special Counsel Jack Smith to appear before your committee for a public hearing on his investigations into Donald Trump. Assuming Jack Smith closes both federal inquiries and submits a report to the Attorney General, he may then answer questions publicly about the cases as they are no longer ongoing - just as Robert Mueller provided testimony after his investigation into Russian election interference and Trump obstruction of justice ended. The American people, and the world, deserve to know the details of these prosecutions in a public setting.

Second, Evan Perez at CNN is reporting that Donald Trump is electing to forego FBI background checks of certain cabinet appointments. In normal course, the White House would ask the FBI for background checks and then it would provide that material to the appropriate Senate Committee for consideration. I imagine Donald Trump is refusing to order background checks so that the information won’t make its way to the committees with jurisdiction over the confirmation of the nominees. Therefore, I urge you to request FBI background checks on Justice Department nominees, and I implore your democratic colleagues chairing other committees to do the same for their respective nominees.

If the White House refuses to consider the FBI background check information, I can’t think of a reason the Senate Committees shouldn’t become the client requesting the information while Democrats still hold the majority. And if that Senate rule doesn’t exist, please write it and pass it posthaste.

Respectfully,

AG