DeGette and Other Democratic Leaders Call on Speaker Ryan to End Select Panel’s Witch Hunt
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Diana DeGette and the other Democratic members of the Select Investigative Panel sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan calling on him to end Chair Marsha Blackburn’s abusive investigation, which is being conducted in violation of House and Committee rules and practice and putting doctors and researchers in danger.
The members objected to ongoing tactics targeting doctors and clinics that put patients and health-care providers at risk. In their letter, they wrote, “Just last week, for example – and after Chair Blackburn and her staff repeatedly promised Ranking Member Schakowsky that they would provide a complete list of the individuals or entities being subpoenaed but then refused to do so – the Chair issued nineteen unilateral subpoenas. Of the nineteen entities and individuals served, seventeen were never afforded an opportunity to comply voluntarily before receiving a subpoena.” These subpoenas are in addition to fifteen unilateral subpoenas issued previously.
The letter continues, “Just yesterday, for example, the Chair issued a press release naming a doctor as now under investigation by the Panel. Republicans have not shared with Democrats any objective basis for targeting this individual, who has been the subject of anti-abortion violence for decades, including a 1991 fire that destroyed his family farm, killing his dog, cat, and seventeen horses in claimed retaliation for the care that he provides for women in this country. The Chair’s complete disregard for this doctor’s safety, particularly in light of the long history of targeted harassment and violence directed against him, is further evidence that this dangerous witch hunt must end.”
“One deponent has already appealed to the Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee and to you, Speaker Ryan, in an effort to get basic protection for individual privacy and safety. Those requests have been refused or met with deafening silence. Facing the threat of contempt, that person appeared before the Panel last week. During eight hours of questioning, she was asked to “name names” by Republican staff who refused to explain how their requests bore any relation to a legitimate investigative aim. The Republican demand that people appear and name other individuals when they do so is reminiscent of Senator Joe McCarthy, whose bullying behavior ultimately resulted in censure by the U.S. Senate but not before he had damaged many American’s lives and careers with unfounded accusations.”
The letter concludes, ”This investigation has uncovered no evidence of wrongdoing and Chair Blackburn’s unjustified witch hunt against researchers and doctors is putting life-saving research and health care at risk. This investigation has never been – and has no hope of becoming – fair or fact-based and we call on you to disband it.”