Lieu calls for change to House rules, saying administration ‘brought a machete to a knife fight’

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Sunday said House rules need to be changed to address contempt and fines for witnesses, saying the Trump administration “brought a machete to a knife fight” and lawmakers are “getting shredded.”

“The @realDonaldTrump Administration brought a machete to a knife fight,” he tweeted. “We brought the House rules. And we are getting shredded.”

{mosads}Lieu, a frequent critic of President Trump, said the rules should be changed to allow “contempt on the spot,” and for witnesses to be fined daily.  

“It is now time to exercise our full inherent contempt powers,” he added.

The @realDonaldTrump Administration brought a machete to a knife fight. We brought the House rules. And we are getting shredded. We need to change the Rules to allow

-Contempt on the spot
-Witnesses to be fined daily

It is now time to exercise our full inherent contempt powers.

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) September 22, 2019

Lieu’s tweet follows congressional testimony last week from former Trump campaign aide Corey Lewandowski, who refused to answer questions referencing his roles described in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report. The White House sought to limit his testimony, saying discussions fell under “Executive Branch confidentiality interests.” The White House also blocked two other aides from testifying, citing claims of immunity. 

Several Democrats, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), have said Lewandowski should be held in contempt after his testimony.

The post also comes amid increased impeachment talk over reports that Trump asked the Ukrainian president for help in investigating Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.

A call between Trump and a foreign leader sparked a whistleblower complaint, the contents of which Democrats are demanding to see. 

Pelosi has remained leery of jumping into impeachment inquiries but said if the report is not provided, a “new stage of investigation” will begin.