Tag: House Judiciary Committee

Amazon and Facebook Spent More Money Than Ever Lobbying in 2021

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Amazon and Facebook parent company Meta spent more money in 2021 lobbying lawmakers and officials than any year before, according to lobbying disclosure filings.

Amazon spent $20.3 million on lobbying while Meta spent $20.1 million in 2021, according to a review of lobbying disclosure filings by MarketWatch. The figures are record totals for both tech companies, who spent $18.9 million and $19.7 million on lobbying in 2020, respectively.

Google’s lobbying spend for 2021 clocked in at $11.5 million, while Microsoft spent $10.3 million and Apple spent $6.5 million, according to MarketWatch’s review.

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Commentary: The Data Mining of America’s Kids Should Be a National Scandal

RealClearWire

As U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland sat down for his first hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, denying a conflict of interest in his decision to investigate parents for “domestic terrorism,” there is a mother in the quiet suburb of Annandale, N.J., who found his answers lacking. And she has questions she wants asked at Garland’s hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee this Wednesday.

On a recent Saturday night, Caroline Licwinko, a mother of three, a law school student and the coach to her daughter’s cheerleading squad, sat in front of her laptop and tapped three words into an internet search engine: “Panorama. Survey. Results.”

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Conservative Tech Groups Slam Ex-Intelligence Officials for Defending Monopolies, Urge Passage of Antitrust Bills

Minnesota Sun Staff

Two conservative tech advocacy groups sent a letter to House lawmakers criticizing former national security officials for attempting to prevent the passage of antitrust bills targeting Big Tech.

The letter, sent by the Internet Accountability Project (IAP) and the American Principles Project (APP) to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy along with lawmakers responsible for overseeing antitrust legislation, urged Congress to pass six bills targeting major tech companies advanced beyond the House Judiciary Committee in June. The letter also criticized twelve former intelligence officials who sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy arguing against the passage of antitrust bills in mid-September.

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Poll: Majority of Americans Support Regulating, Breaking Up Big Tech

Minnesota Sun Staff

A majority of Americans believe major tech companies are too powerful, and support the government regulating and breaking them up, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted from June 7 to 12 and released Wednesday by Change Research on behalf of progressive groups CAP Action and Public Citizen, found that 81% of respondents believe Big Tech and social media companies are too powerful, with 73% at least “somewhat convinced” they should be regulated and broken up. Republicans had a less favorable view of tech companies than Democrats and tended to be more supportive of antitrust action.

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Barr Says Unrest Not Linked to Floyd, Defends Feds’ Response

The Associated Press

Attorney General William Barr defended the aggressive federal law enforcement response to civil unrest in America, saying on Tuesday “violent rioters and anarchists have hijacked legitimate protests” sparked by George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.

Barr told members of the House Judiciary Committee at a much-anticipated election year hearing the violence taking place in Portland, Oregon, and other cities is disconnected from Floyd’s killing, which he called a “horrible” event that prompted a necessary national reckoning on the relationship between the Black community and law enforcement.

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Jim Jordan Calls on Nadler to Help Obtain Trump-Russia Documents Before Barr Hearing

Minnesota Sun Staff

Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, is calling on Rep. Jerry Nadler to help obtain documents and testimony related to the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign prior to a hearing in July for Attorney General William Barr.

“The Attorney General’s appearance is also an opportunity for the Committee to conduct oversight of the Obama-Biden Administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department and intelligence community against the Trump campaign,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Nadler obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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House Republicans Seek Probe of Chinese Communist Party Investment in US Visa Program

Minnesota Sun Staff

The top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee is asking the Government Accountability Office to review whether members of the Chinese Communist Party have exploited a program that allows foreigners to obtain green cards by investing in businesses in the United States.

Reps. Jim Jordan and Guy Reschenthaler sent a letter Monday to Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general of the Government Accountability Office, inquiring whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its members have used the EB-5 program to gain a foothold in the United States.

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Jonathan Turley Impeachment Inquiry Opening Statement: ‘What We Leave in the Wake of This Scandal Will Shape our Democracy for Generations’

Julie Carr

The following is the complete transcript of Professor Jonathon Turley’s opening statement to the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday.

It’s an honor to appear before you today to discuss one of the most consequential functions you were given by the framers and that is the impeachment of a President of the United States. Twenty-one years ago I sat before you chairman Nadler and this committee to testify at the impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton.

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Mueller Reportedly Reluctant to Testify Publicly About Russia Probe

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chuck Ross   Special counsel Robert Mueller’s negotiations with House Democrats over his public testimony have reportedly hit a roadblock. CNN reports that Mueller is reluctant to testify publicly about the Russia investigation for fear of being seen as too political. The Washington Post is reporting that Mueller and…

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Reports: Mueller Won’t Testify Next Week, Says House Judiciary Chair

Minnesota Sun Staff

U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller will not testify before Congress next week, the Democratic chairman of the House Judiciary Committee told reporters Friday, according to media reports. Chairman Jerrold Nadler said he hopes he does not have to subpoena Mueller to appear before lawmakers but that he would issue one…

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House Judiciary Committee Passes Vote to Hold Attorney General William Barr In Contempt of Congress

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Henry Rodgers   The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for not giving the committee special counsel Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted report. The committee, led by New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, originally gave Barr a deadline of 9 a.m.…

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House Judiciary Committee Passes Vote to Hold Attorney General William Barr In Contempt of Congress

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Henry Rodgers   The House Judiciary Committee voted Wednesday to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt of Congress for not giving the committee special counsel Robert Mueller’s full, unredacted report. The committee, led by New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, originally gave Barr a deadline of 9 a.m.…

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House Judiciary Committee Chair Nadler Falsely Claims Don Jr. Was Offered Stolen Information in Trump Tower Meeting

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Chuck Ross   New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, falsely claimed in an interview on Sunday that Donald Trump Jr. was offered stolen information in the infamous meeting at Trump Tower in June 2016. “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd failed to correct…

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Democratic Probes of Trump Could Trigger Protracted Subpoena Battle

Minnesota Sun Staff

With House Democrats ramping up their wide-ranging investigations of President Donald Trump, Congress and the administration are bracing for what is shaping up to be a long, hard fight over access to documents and witnesses that could go on for the remainder of Trump’s first term in office. On Wednesday…

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Full Court Press: House Democrats Expand Russia Probe Seeking Documents to Prove ‘Obstruction’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Declaring it’s “very clear” President Donald Trump obstructed justice, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, says the panel is requesting documents Monday from more than 60 people from Trump’s administration, family and business as part of a rapidly expanding Russia investigation. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the House Judiciary…

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Republican Who Survived Shooting Says Democrats Wouldn’t Let Him Testify at Gun Control Hearing

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Joshua Nelson   House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee blocked him from appearing at a hearing Wednesday on gun control to testify as the victim of the shooting during a congressional baseball practice two years ago. Historically, Scalise said, members of Congress…

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Judiciary Committee Freshman Democrat Rep. Joe Neguse Floats Perjury Probe of Justice Brett Kavanaugh

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Kevin Daley   Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, a freshman member of the House Judiciary Committee, told constituents the panel will likely investigate Justice Brett Kavanaugh for perjury. “There’s no question [Kavanaugh] committed perjury during the confirmation hearings and so forth,” Neguse said when asked if the…

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Google Employees Sought to Block Breitbart From Ads, Emails Show

Minnesota Sun Staff

by Peter Hasson   Google employees sought to block Breitbart from Google AdSense less than one month after President Donald Trump took office, leaked emails from the company reveal. Google employees sought to use alleged “hate speech” as a pretense for banning Breitbart from taking part in the advertising program,…

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House Chairman Plans To Subpoena Rod Rosenstein ‘Very Soon’

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by Chuck Ross   The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee said Saturday that he will subpoena Rod Rosenstein “very soon” if the deputy attorney general does not agree to an on-the-record interview with Congress. “[Rosenstein] has not agreed to come for a transcribed interview on the record. He needs…

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Seven Takeaways From FBI Agent Strzok’s Testimony Before Two House Committees

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Peter Strzok

by Fred Lucas   A joint hearing of two House committees Thursday repeatedly turned testy as FBI agent Peter Strzok sought to explain away text messages sharply critical of Donald Trump and how they did not affect the fairness of the FBI investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential…

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