Republicans are already attempting to block House Democrats from investigating a meeting former President Donald Trump held with oil and gas executives that critics have called an act of "undisguised corruption," a new letter shows.
The investigation would potentially look into Trump's reported demand, made at a Mar-a-Lago dinner in April, for $1 billion in campaign funding in exchange for environmental regulation cuts should he regain the White House.
Senate Democrats launched an investigation into the April 11 dinner, and promises reportedly made to top executives, earlier Thursday.
Now Rep. James Comer's (R-KY) is trying to block House Democrats from running a parallel investigation, according to a letter he sent with Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and shared with Raw Story.
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"The inquiries represent not only your latest assault on the private sector but a naked attempt to chill rights protected by the Constitution under the First Amendment," Comer writes.
"Individuals, including employees of these companies, have the right to consider and support the candidate best aligned with their views without your interference."
House Republicans have also shared this message on X, claiming Democrats and Raskin were "attempting to chill American energy producers’ First Amendment rights and create a non-existent scandal about American energy producers’ support for former President Trump’s energy policies."
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The House Democratic Oversight Committee spokesperson responded with the following statement:
"Chairman Comer, the self-proclaimed champion of government ethics and transparency, once again obstructs efforts to investigate any potential wrongdoing by Donald Trump, even when it involves a billion-dollar Mar-a-Lago quid pro quo."
