The Department of Justice on Thursday rejected a request from the House Committee on Oversight and Reform for more documents about the citizenship question added to the 2020 Census, saying in a memo that thousands of documents and expert testimony already have been provided in the matter and calling a threat to hold Attorney General Bill Barr in contempt "premature."
The DOJ said it's provided, in eight filings since receiving the document request in February and a subpoena in April, more than 17,000 documents, and is preparing "tens of thousands" more, according to the memo as shown on Axios. In addition, Gene Hamilton, counselor to the attorney general, and John Gere, principal deputy attorney general for the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, have both testified before the committee, chaired by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.
The denial means the House is even more likely to vote to hold Barr and former White House counsel Don McGahn in contempt of Congress next week, notes Axios.
The constitutionality of the citizenship question has come under question, and the Supreme Court will decide if it is permitted.
It also has been revealed, through court documents filed in May, that now-deceased GOP gerrymandering strategist Thomas Hofeller had written in 2015 that the citizenship question would put Democrats at a disadvantage, reports The New York Times.
Hofeller, who died in April, also helped to draft a Justice Department letter arguing the question is essential for enforcing the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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