In my first post at Goodlatte Watch in December, I reported:
Sixteen Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have written to chairman Bob Goodlatte asking him to schedule hearings on the potential conflicts between Donald Trump’s business interests and his future position as president of the United States.
I can find no evidence that Goodlatte even bothered to reply to the letter, let alone schedule hearings.
Now The Washington Post reports:
In an escalation of Democratic efforts to highlight questions about President Trump’s potential conflicts of interest and alleged ties to Russia, a senior House Democrat is dusting off a little-used legislative tool to force a committee debate or floor vote on the issue.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) filed a “resolution of inquiry” Thursday, a relatively obscure parliamentary tactic used to force presidents and executive-branch agencies to share records with Congress. Under House practice, such a resolution must be debated and acted upon in committee or else it can be discharged to the House floor for consideration.
…..
Nadler, the No. 2-ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said that his move came after Democrats sent two letters to Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and another letter to House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) asking for investigations into Trump’s financial entanglements.
“All of this demands investigation, and of course they’ve refused,” Nadler said Thursday at the House Democrats’ annual policy retreat [in Baltimore]. “This resolution will force them to confront the issue.”
…..
Under House rules, a resolution of inquiry is referred to a committee, which has 14 legislative days to debate and vote on whether how it should be reported to the floor. If the committee does not take action in that 14-day span, the measure can be called up on the House floor for a debate and vote.
A spokeswoman for Goodlatte declined to comment Thursday on whether he plans to take up Nadler’s resolution.
Of course she did.
Unfortunately for Goodlatte’s efforts to evade his responsibilities as head of the Judiciary Committee, things just got real.
Update: You can read the letters that the House Judiciary Committee Democrats sent to Goodlatte here and here.
Goodlatte Watch 
Mid-Term elections have consequences, Bob. Please do your job.
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Yes, you are losing voter confidence quickly. First you lend legislative staff to draft an illegal and unconstitutional executive order. Not sure what is worse; the ineptness of your staffers or the unethical actions crossing boundaries between excutivr and legislative business . Now your lack of concern about other possible unethical behaviors.
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Bob Goodlatte needs to DO HIS JOB. He has an obligation to his constituents and the American people to hold hearings on the President’s potential ethical conflicts.
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Have you all seen the latest of Goodlatte in India during recess week? He is being Trump’s “dealmaker” in India instead of meeting with his constituents right here in his district. Here’s an Indian media article : http://indianexpress.com/article/business/visa-immigration-donald-trump-is-businessman-would-like-to-do-deals-with-india-goodlatte/lite/
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Bob Goodlatte quite obviously has lost his way if he ever had one. In addition to the high profile cases in which he has taken unacceptable and not defensible positions, he’s pushing a bill in Congress now essentially cutting the legs out from Class Action protections provided by current law. These protections serve the consumer, working class and under class citizens in this country, Unfortunately this is consistent with other positions this man has taken. Supporting a bill that is cleverly worded to obscure its intent is deceitful and underhanded. The Class Action bill H.R. 985 presents itself as a protection for the consumer ? Whaaaaaat ? It requires all members of a class must suffer identical damages otherwise it would not meet the standards to certify the class, a key component I establishing class actions. Its impossible for all individuals, millions of them to suffer identical damages and therefore this underhanded legislation is designed to deceive the public. He’s ( Good -for nothing- Latte ) is an excellent walking advertisement for term limits. For those reading this that are confused or willing to presume partisanship please note, lying, cheating and stealing has no place on either side of the aisle and confusion is the deliberate tool of choice for those that traffic in it
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