The House Oversight Committee and, specifically, the Select Committee on Benghazi have been particularly active this year, explicitly in relation to Hillary Clinton. They have gone after her record, her emails and her poll numbers. Despite allegations that they are simply operating as a partisan hit-squad, they argue that they are pushing for transparency, openness and the truth. While their track records and committee findings say otherwise, let us take their operating principles at face value. Assuming they are doing everything in their power to work by them, we need to demand the same effort put forward into investigating the next admiration.
Trump’s inauguration is still a few months off, but questions regarding his track record and potential conflicts of interest are rising. Take, for example, the Trump University case, which Trump settled for $25 million despite his stated intention to fight it. Or the fact that he will have many conflicts of interest while in office that could potentially violate the Emoluments Clause if he does not put his company in a blind trust (which he has declined to do). In short, the House Oversight Committee is going to have its hands full if it actually cares about its declared principles.
This quandary, in my opinion, will be a defining moment for congressional partisanship. If the House Oversight Committee moves to hold Trump to the same standard set by their investigation of Clinton, their methodology of investigation may be flawed, but their intentions shall prove immune to partisanship. However, if they choose to turn a blind eye to the ethically questionable nature of the President-elect, then we can be sure that Congress will not pose a serious check the executive’s power as envisioned in the Constitution.
This is particularly important when considering that Trump appears to already be edging the ethical line when it comes to conflict between his business and the presidency. In a recent call with the President of Argentina, Trump apparently brought up a stalled building project of his in Buenos Aires. Should this unethical mixture of business and politics continue, Trump and his business could potentially be profiting from his position and decisions as president.
The House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz and Trey Gowdy in particular, have assured us that they are simply seeking to rid Washington of corruption, not run wild on some partisan witch-hunt. I’d be more inclined to believe them if they’d now turn their eye to the president-elect and his closet full of skeletons. A failure to address what seems obvious to everyone looking would be an affront, not just to the supposed values of the committee, but to the America people who expect better out of Washington.