Jason Chaffetz Archives - Common Sense Evaluation

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Chaffetz Refers Bryan Pagliano To DOJ For Charges

February 17, 2017 gags

CHAFFETZ REFERS PAGLIANO (HILLARY’S IT GUY) TO DOJ, RECOMMENDS CHARGES BE BROUGHT! IT’S HAPPENING!

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions today asking Sessions to consider convening a grand jury or bringing charges against Hillary Clinton’s former IT guy, Bryan Pagliano. Pagliano was subpoenaed to testify before the committee last year but refused to appear on two occasions. After the second refusal, the Oversight Committee voted to hold Pagliano in contempt.

Chaffetz’ letter to AG Sessions reads in part, “Because Pagliano’s job functions included supporting mobile computing issues across the Department, he was uniquely positioned to answer questions regarding State Department policies and practices for preserving records, as well as the technological procedures utilized to do so.” The letter concludes, “In light of Pagliano’s contumacious conduct in refusing to testify, the Department should bring the matter before a grand jury for its action or file an information charging Pagliano with violating 2 U.S.C. § 192.”

In a statement released by the committee, Chaffetz says, “The authority to compel witnesses is integral to Congress’s and the Committee’s investigative powers. Allowing Mr. Pagliano’s conduct to go unaddressed would gravely harm Congress’s ability to conduct oversight.”

Pagliano was the person responsible for managing Hillary Clinton’s private email server. He worked for Clinton at the State Department while she was Secretary of State but also maintained her homebrew server in his off hours.

Pagliano was subpoenaed to appear before the House Oversight Committee twice last September. Mark MacDougall, Pagliano’s attorney, argued his client should not have to appear since he would only be invoking his 5th Amendment right not to testify. Chaffetz insisted he would need to do so in person.

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Political

Republicans Introduce Bill To Eliminate The Department Of Education

February 9, 2017February 9, 2017 gags

Republican congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced a bill to abolish the Department of Education on the very same day that Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the Department’s new secretary.

On February 7^th, Vice President Mike Pence cast a tie-breaking vote that led to the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as the new Secretary of the Department of Education. Pence’s vote marked the first time in American political history that a vice president had intervened to break a tie regarding the Senate confirmation for a Cabinet nominee and was the first vice-presidential tie-breaking vote since 2008. DeVos had faced stern opposition from Senate Democrats as well as teachers union and other groups for a variety of reasons, chief among them her alleged favoritism of private and charter schools over their public counterparts.

On the very same day as DeVos’ confirmation, Republican congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced H.R. 899, a bill with the sole intention of eliminating the entire Department that DeVos is set to run. Arguably one of the more succinct bills in the Congressional history, the bill consists of a single sentence reading: “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018.”

Though the bill is very straightforward, the press release regarding the bill’s introduction offered more information and background on why Massie, along with the bill’s seven other Republican sponsors, are seeking to eliminate the Department of Education.

According to the press release, Massie argued that:

“Neither Congress nor the President, through his appointees, has the constitutional authority to dictate how and what our children must learn. Unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. should not be in charge of our children’s intellectual and moral development. States and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students.”

A large part of the impulse behind the bill seems to be a strong dissatisfaction with Common Core. Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ), one of the bill’s co-sponsors, said that “Since its inception, the Department of Education has grown into an unrecognizable federal beast, and its policies have helped foster Common Core across the country. It is time the one-size-fits-all approach by the federal government is ended and authority is returned to the local level.” Other co-sponsors of the bill include Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Justin Amash (R-MI), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Jody Hice (R-GA), Walter Jones (R-NC), and Raúl Labrador (R-ID).

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Political

Trump Encourages House Oversight Committee: “Go After Everything”

February 7, 2017February 7, 2017 gags

Congressman Jason Chaffetz told the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that President Trump instructed him and the committee to pursue every government investigation they deem appropriate.

The Oversight chairman stated the conversation took place after the 2017 GOP retreat in Philadelphia, his second-time ever speaking with President Trump in person.

Watch:

“He came up to me and said, ‘you do a great job. You do a great job,’ which of course I agreed with,” the Utah Republican explained, eliciting laughs from the committee. “Then he said, ‘listen, I understand that I am the President. You have a job to do. You do oversight. Don’t slow down. You go after everything you want to go after. You look at everything you want to look at.”

“If you sat there and heard what he said to me about pursuing oversight of the government and the function that we fulfill, you’d be pretty inspiring, and it was inspiring to me. For him to convey the message, ‘don’t slow down, do your job, there’s a lot to get after with the government,’ I think that’s a good message.” – Jason Chaffetz, the chairman of the HOC

President Trump made it clear during the debates that he was going to appoint a special prosecutor in the case against Hillary Clinton. That time has now come. Justice needs to be served!