Grassley, Johnson Seek Answers from Justice Departmenton Immunity, Proffer Policy, Investigations
WASHINGTON - Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson, chairmen of the Judiciary and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs committees, are seeking answers from U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch about whether the Justice Department would deem a proffer session as a waiver of a witness's Fifth Amendment rights and whether the department has an ongoing criminal inquiry related to the witness.
The letter to Lynch comes after the attorneys for Bryan Pagliano, the former State Department employee responsible for servicing the private server of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, indicated that if he were compelled to testify, he would invoke his Fifth Amendment rights. The attorneys then responded to a subsequent request from Grassley and Johnson for a private discussion, known as a proffer session, so the committees could better understand what Pagliano's testimony would be if he were immunized and compelled to testify. Pagliano's attorneys replied that, among other things, any proffer session on the part of Pagliano or his attorneys may create a risk that he will later be deemed to have waived his constitutional protections.
Grassley and Johnson said that while the Justice Department generally prefers not to talk about ongoing cases, the information they are asking for is critical to help their committees make an informed decision about whether or not to exercise their statutory authority to seek an immunity order to obtain Pagliano's testimony for congressional oversight purposes. The senators said that understanding the precise nature of the FBI's inquiry into the use of the non-government server that was used to send or receive classified content by Clinton, the Justice Department's view of Pagliano's role in that inquiry, and the impact of any potential immunity order are important considerations for the committees as well as the department.
The senators added that whether to compel Pagliano's testimony is an important decision that their committees are not taking lightly, and obtaining information from the Justice Department will help to inform that decision-making process.
A copy of the text of the letter to Lynch is here. The signed copy can be found here.
Grassley in Bipartisan Push Urging Administration to Address Currency Manipulation in Trade Talks
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is part of a bipartisan group of senators urging United States Trade Representative Michael Froman and U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to more aggressively address currency issues in the ongoing Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. In a letter to Froman and Lew, Grassley and his fellow senators requested an update on the Administration's efforts to address currency issues and reiterated concerns regarding foreign countries devaluing their currency.
"As you know, we have long been concerned about currency issues, which directly impact the competitiveness of workers in our states and across the country. However, recently China devalued its currency by over 4 percent," Grassley and colleagues including Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) wrote.
"We fear these recent currency interventions could lead to a pattern of competitive devaluation within the Asia-Pacific that could hurt U.S. workers and exports for years to come," they continued.
The senators have repeatedly called for TPP negotiations to include strong provisions that address currency manipulation, which hurts U.S. auto exports and workers.
Along with Grassley, Portman and Brown, today's letter was also signed by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.).
The full text of the letter can be found below and here.
