House Democrats sent letters to 36 federal agencies and private companies on Monday telling them to preserve all documents related to President Donald Trump’s many construction projects. The letters come after whistleblowers have reportedly warned Democrats that documents have already been destroyed, in violation of the Federal Records Act.
Rep. Jared Huffman, a Democrat from California and the ranking member on the House Natural Resources Committee, sent the letters Monday in an effort to make sure Democrats can properly investigate potential corruption when they take the majority in January. Democrats had a historic midterm election and will hold at least 259 seats in the House compared to just 166 by the Republicans.
Letters were sent to companies including Palantir, Boeing, Chevron, Lockheed Martin, and ExxonMobil, as well as federal agencies like the National Park Service, the Commerce Department, NOAA, and the Department of the Interior.
President Trump tore down a third of the White House last year without any kind of oversight from Congress and has been building a ballroom in its place. The ballroom and the president’s other construction projects have often been the subject of litigation. The focus of the letters to private companies involves their donations to President Trump’s projects, according to CNN.
“For two years, this administration has stonewalled us and kept the American people in the dark while Democrats have fought tirelessly to daylight and stop their corruption. Those days of obstruction are over.” Rep. Huffman said in a statement published online.
Huffman, who represents a district along the northern coast of California stretching all the way to Oregon, was reelected to an eighth term last week. He garnered 66.5% of the vote compared to his Republican challenger Robin Littau who got just 33.5%.
Huffman’s win means that in January he’ll become the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees publicly owned lands, mining, and mineral rights, among a host of other responsibilities.
“I am sending a message to President Trump and his allies: our investigations will continue full steam ahead,” said Huffman. “And to every agency official and corporate executive receiving these letters: save everything. The American people deserve to know what you did with their government and their money, and we intend to get them answers.”
Politico first reported on the possible destruction of records in Trump’s government back in August. The Interior Department has been reportedly using disappearing messaging features like the ones available on Signal in a way that would not be consistent with federal records retention laws, according to whistleblowers. The Interior Department told CNN that any claims about destruction of records was “100% false.”
The Democrats are expected to launch a number of investigations next year but it remains to be seen what consequences will ultimately result. Congress has the power to investigate and subpoena witnesses but can’t send people to prison on its own. Referrals to the U.S. Department of Justice are likely to go unheeded in the current environment. After all, the Attorney General is currently Todd Blanche, President Trump’s former personal lawyer.
