Statement on Senate Impeachment Vote: Oversight Must and Will Continue

On Wednesday, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump of Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. The vote came without the Senate collecting evidence or calling witnesses, and less than a day after the Department of Energy released 41 pages of records as part of American Oversight’s Ukraine investigation.

Statement from Austin Evers, executive director at American Oversight: 

“President Trump received a powerful message that his corruption will go unpunished so long as he can retain the loyalty of 34 senators. By failing to collect evidence, call witnesses, or faithfully engage in its constitutional responsibility to conduct a fair impeachment trial, the Senate has endangered our democracy and left meaningful work undone.

“Though the vote felt inevitable to many, there is another important lesson from the past four months: Oversight works. The launch of the House investigation exposed Trump’s Ukraine pressure campaign and forced it to stop — and Ukraine is far from the only misconduct in this administration that deserves similar investigation and exposure.

“Congress and the public have a long list of open questions that deserve to be answered. American Oversight will aggressively push for transparency and accountability for those who participated in the corrupt Ukraine scheme, and will continue our investigations into the administration’s self-dealing and disregard for the law.

“The promise that corruption will be exposed is the last check against an otherwise unrestrained administration. It is imperative that the president not be allowed to conclude that he is above accountability. Oversight must and will continue.”

American Oversight’s investigation into the Trump administration’s Ukraine dealings will continue. There are five document production deadlines scheduled in the next six weeks in response to American Oversight’s FOIA litigation — including the expected release of additional records from the Departments of State, Energy, and Defense. See the full investigation, FOIAs, and records uncovered here.

Oversight Beyond Ukraine

As the Ukraine scandal has dominated both the headlines and congressional attention over the past months, American Oversight has continued investigating ongoing misconduct, corruption, and conflicts of interest across the Trump administration and beyond. Current priority investigations include:

• The Extreme Anti-Immigrant Agenda: American Oversight is investigating multiple facets of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant agenda, including the family separation policy, “Remain in Mexico,” deplorable conditions in detention centers, and deaths of migrants held in U.S. custody.
• Halkbank: American Oversight is investigating the timing of federal charges against the state-owned Turkish Halkbank, and whether the U.S. investigation of the bank was influenced by external entities or the president’s personal interests.
• Profiting from the Presidency: From steering tax dollars to Trump properties to providing special access to members of his private Mar-a-Lago Club, American Oversight is investigating the ways the president has used his office to benefit the Trump Organization.
• State Accountability Project: Voter suppression is the corruption of democracy itself. American Oversight is investigating efforts to limit or undermine voting rights in Florida, Georgia, and Texas.
• Undermining Health Care: The Trump administration has continued to try to sabotage the Affordable Care Act, weaken protections for patients with pre-existing conditions, and make it harder for low-income people to obtain coverage. American Oversight is investigating these actions and other efforts to undermine health-care access and quality.
• Public Lands & Environmental Regulations: Some of the most lasting damage of the Trump administration will be the efforts to exploit public land and deregulate the environment. American Oversight is investigating the influence of the fossil fuel industry on environmental policy.
• Misconduct and Conflicts of Interest: The corruption doesn’t end at the White House fence. Numerous senior officials across the administration are former lobbyists and industry executives now tasked with regulating the businesses they once served, and potential conflicts are widespread. American Oversight is continuing to investigate the actions and conflicts of interest of cabinet and sub-cabinet officials.