WASHINGTON - Today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Committee on Financial Services, joined Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other House Democratic Committee leaders to highlight House Republicans’ failure to investigate and conduct adequate oversight of the Trump Administration. At the press conference, Ranking Member Waters stressed the urgency behind investigating the suspicious financial dealings of the President, his immediate family and his associates, including their possible involvement in illicit Russian financial schemes:

Thank you, Leader Pelosi, for organizing all of us today who have taken some action in dealing with the Trump family criminal enterprise. Whether we have written letters, or introduced legislation, so many of us are attempting, in every way that we possibly can, to unveil the criminal activity, the unconstitutional activity of this President and his family. I have dubbed them the Kremlin Klan a long time ago, and as many of you know, I stepped out a long time ago and said I thought he should be impeached. But let me share with you today one of the actions that I’m taking.

Donald Trump is clearly hiding something big when it comes to his finances. There are many unanswered questions. Why does Trump refuse to reveal his tax returns to the public? Why was Deutsche Bank—a bank that has been fined for Russian money laundering and many other violations of the law—willing to lend hundreds of millions of dollars to Trump after his bankruptcies when no other bank would lend to him? Why, according to press reports, have around 70% of Trump’s real estate property sales over the past 12 months been to secretive shell companies?

Democrats on the Financial Services Committee want to get to the bottom of these questions, and follow the Trump money trail.

Unfortunately, our requests to Chairman Jeb Hensarling that he utilize the investigative powers of the Committee to look into matters pertaining to Donald Trump and his financial dealings have been completely ignored. Mind you, this is not a Chairman who is shy about using the oversight powers of the Committee. But, rather than use these powers appropriately, he abuses them by harassing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Simply put, the Chairman is covering for the President and elevating party over country.

Our request to the Treasury Department for documents on Trump and his financial dealings was also ignored. To that end, I and other Democrats on the Committee have introduced a Resolution of Inquiry. This Resolution directs the Treasury Secretary to provide any documents pertaining to:

• credit extended by, or involving, Russian banks or Russian government officials, to the President, his immediate family members, his associates, as well as his properties and businesses;
  
• any money laundering violations involving the President, his immediate family, his associates, his properties and businesses;
  
• any violations of U.S. sanctions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the Logan Act, by President Trump, his immediate family members, or his associates;
  
• and other information related to Deutsche Bank and the President.
  

Our Republican colleagues must wake up, and hold this President accountable.

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