Democrats turn up heat on Trump with push to hold senior officials in contempt of Congress

Democrats are pushing to hold two senior Trump administration officials in contempt of Congress – the latest attempt to turn the screw on a president unwilling to agree to their demands.

The chair of the House oversight committee, congressman Elijah Cummings, said he planned to vote on whether to hold attorney general William Barr and commerce secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt over their alleged efforts to politicise the 2020 US census.

The Trump administration has sought to add a citizenship question to the census, something it says will help provide a better understanding of where citizens live. Critics say it could put off minorities from responding, a view that has hardened since it was revealed the architect of the plan, Tom Hofeller, who died last year, said it would be “advantageous to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites”.

Mr Cummings’s committee says Mr Barr and Mr Ross, whose department oversees the census, have been stonewalling their request for information. It will vote to hold Mr Ross in contempt for failing to turn over documents requested through a subpoena, and on a similar censure for the attorney general.

“Both secretary Ross and attorney general Barr are refusing to comply with duly authorised subpoenas from Congress,” Mr Cummings said. “Because they are in contempt of Congress, on Wednesday, the committee will vote to move forward to enforce our bipartisan subpoenas.”

The move by Mr Cummings is the latest skirmish in the fight between Democrats disappointed by Robert Mueller’s report, and Donald Trump’s instructions to the White House to refuse requests for information or testimony from officials. He says the actions by part of a “witch hunt” that included Mr Mueller’s two-year investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

On Monday, the House judiciary committee planned to hear from Mr Mueller himself, and former White House counsel Don McGahn. But because the two refused to appear, they instead heard testimony from Richard Nixon’s White House lawyer, John Dean, who served jail time for covering up the Watergate scandal.

Dean, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of Mr Trump, told the committee: “Special counsel Mueller has provided this committee with a road map.”

Mr Trump later responded, telling reporters: “John Dean’s been a loser for many years.”

Also on Monday, the department of justice said it would comply with the House judiciary committee’s request for the background information used by Mr Mueller to create his report. That move was enough for that committee to suspend its own over on whether to hold Mr Barr in contempt, even though the House will still hold a ballot over whether to go to court to enforce its subpoenas of Mr Barr and Mr McGahn.

On Wednesday, the House intelligence committee will examine the counterintelligence implications of Russia’s alleged interference.

The actions by Democrats come as many on Capitol Hill are pushing to launch impeachment proceedings against Mr Trump, a move currently being resisted for tactical reasons by Democratic House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mr Mueller probe found no evidence of a conspiracy between Moscow and members of the president’s team. On the question of obstruction of justice, Mr Mueller said his team was unable to exonerate the president and that prosecutors were unable – because of longstanding department of justice guidelines – to consider indicting a sitting president. He indicated such a role fell to Congress.

Mr Barr and his then deputy Rod Rosenstein, decided there was insufficient evidence to charge Mr Trump.

Many Democrats, and critics of the president, believe the party must now impeach Mr Trump and step in where Mr Mueller was unable to tread.