Co-Chairs of Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Call for Oversight Investigation into President Trump’s Dangerous Muslim Ban

WASHINGTON – Today, the co-chairs of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, Rep. Cheri Bustos (IL-17), David Cicilline (RI-1) and Hakeem Jeffries (NY-8), issued a joint statement calling for a House Oversight & Government Reform Committee investigation into the development and execution of President Donald Trump's dangerous Muslim ban. A top-to-bottom investigation into President Trump's executive order would answer several critically important questions that the American people deserve answers to.

"The American people deserve an immediate, thorough and transparent investigation into how Donald Trump's un-American Muslim ban was developed, written and executed. A broad range of national security experts have concluded that instead of making us safer, this executive order will actually undermine our ability to work with our allies to fight terrorism at home and abroad.

"Evidence is stacking up that Donald Trump has been dishonest with the American people. Whether it's Rudy Giuliani's admission that this was developed as a Muslim ban, the clear conflict of interest that exists with President Trump's business interests, the emergence of reports that airport officials were unconstitutionally denying detainees their right to see a lawyer – the American people demand answers. Over the past week, Donald Trump has bumbled through a series of Executive Orders that have undermined our national security while putting the lives of American troops and refugees fleeing ISIS terrorists at risk. We have an obligation to resist this unconstitutional attack on our democratic values and hold Donald Trump accountable in the light of day. That is why we are calling on Chairman Jason Chaffetz to launch a bipartisan investigation into Donald Trump's Muslim ban."

An investigation would uncover how his chaotic executive order was developed, vetted and executed. Over the weekend, media reports indicated the Department of Homeland Security was "left making a legal analysis on the order after Trump signed it" and that "the policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas, and largely avoided the traditional interagency process that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance." In fact, the Secretary of Homeland Security got his first full briefing on the issue while President Trump was signing the Executive Order. There was also deep confusion about whether green card holders would be affected. Initially, Homeland Security officials reached the legal conclusion that the Executive Order did not apply to green card holders, however they were "overruled" by President Trump's advisors Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.

As they went back and forth after the fact, hundreds of travelers were illegally detained despite the ruling of a federal judge to grant a stay. And all the while, our nation's airports and Customs and Border Protection officials were left to make up their own minds about what President Trump's Executive Order did or did not cover.

In fact, there are media reports that in some cases, Customs and Border Protection officials defied the federal court ruling and denied detainees their constitutional right to see a lawyer.

Another key issue is the fact that the Administration has claimed that this is not a "Muslim ban." This claim is undercut by an interview Rudy Giuliani gave over the weekend where he very openly admitted that President Trump asked him to develop a "Muslim ban," but find "the right way to do it legally."

One more unanswered question is why President Trump only chose to ban travel from citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia Sudan, Syria, and Yemen while excluding other Muslim-majority countries like Azerbaijan, Egypt, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The answer to this one could be pretty simple. As was noted by Bloomberg News over the weekend, Donald Trump has no financial interest in the banned countries while he has a personal financial stake in the exempted nations.

Even Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham have denounced President Trump's Muslim ban. In a joint statement, they said it could "become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism" and undermine "American troops [who] are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL."

On Monday, it was also revealed that Republican staffers on the House Judiciary Committee secretly helped develop the Executive Order and were required to sign non-disclosure statements for their work.

Only through a thorough and transparent investigation can the American people hope to get the answers they deserve. While it's important that refugees and immigrants get proper vetting, President Trump does not have the right to use Executive Orders to clearly violate individual's civil rights or protect and enrich his family's business interests.

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