Connect with us

Midwest

Biden agency chief has 'slow-rolled' SBA's cooperation in electioneering probe says House committee

Published

on

Biden agency chief has 'slow-rolled' SBA's cooperation in electioneering probe says House committee

EXCLUSIVE: The chairman of a House committee tasked with overseeing small business and commercial issues sent the Small Business Administration (SBA) a scathing letter Friday outlining how it has purportedly failed to hand over sufficient subpoenaed documents.

Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, previously noted the SBA used a 2021 Biden executive order on “promoting access to voting” to forge a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State.

The way the MOU has been acted upon is controversial and potentially unconstitutional, Williams has said, as he and others in Congress previously accused the SBA of using it to funnel resources to a swing state in a partisan way. He previously said the SBA is “diverting its resources away from assisting Main Street so it can register Democratic voters” in Michigan. 

On Friday, Williams wrote SBA administrator Isabel Casillas-Guzman to criticize “lackluster production of documents pursuant to the committee’s July 30, 2024 subpoena.”

LAWMAKERS DEMAND ANSWERS FROM TOP MICHIGAN OFFICIAL OVER ALLEGED ‘WEAPONIZATION’ OF TAXPAYER FUNDS FOR ELECTIONEERING

Advertisement

Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, right, is accusing President Biden of using the Small Business Administration as a campaign arm. (Getty Images)

Williams had asked for, and later subpoenaed, travel calendars for agency staff, as well as other key documents in his probe into whether SBA’s work under the MOU is indeed partisan or worse.

“Since the first request was made by this Committee on March 20, 2024, the SBA has produced approximately 500 pages of documents, a substantial portion of which is just one email chain; further, nearly 20 percent of the documents produced by the SBA were entirely unresponsive to the Committee’s requests,” the letter went on.

“It remains unclear why the SBA has slow-rolled productions and wasted time producing documents that were either nonresponsive to Committee’s requests or duplicative.”

WATCHDOG GROUP SUES FEDS FOR RECORDS AS LAWMAKER CALLS VOTER REGISTRATION EFFORTS A ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’

Advertisement

Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams is targeting a partnership started by the Michigan Department of State and Small Business Administration chief Isabel Guzman. (Getty Images)

In May, the SBA was also sued on a coinciding front by the conservative Oversight Project, a government transparency watchdog, after it too made Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for similar documentation.

In that filing, plaintiff Mike Howell called the documents sought a “matter of widespread and exceptional media interest in which there exists possible questions about the government’s integrity which affect public confidence.”

In Friday’s letter, Williams said the SBA has provided “zero calendars” despite the subpoena, as well as a document describing the “implementation plan” of its voter outreach work, as required under President Biden’s separate order.

Williams also said he is aware of the aforementioned separate FOIA litigation and that the agency attested therein that such a document does exist.

Advertisement

A source familiar with the committee’s work said government officials also accused the panel of making baseless allegations surrounding the investigation and said the agency is trying to cover up any electioneering.

Williams told Fox News Digital on Friday he remains disappointed at what he characterized as a woefully insufficient response by the SBA.

“Instead of cooperating with basic congressional oversight, the SBA has once again given us documents that are not responsive to our requests – despite their claims otherwise. With the presidential election less than three months away, our investigation is more important than ever,” Williams said.

“Let me be clear, this Committee will not stop until we put an end to the SBA’s abuse of taxpayer resources, and ensure they refocus their efforts to the mission of supporting Main Street.”

Advertisement

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who was not party to the letter but has been a key voice in the upper chamber on the matter, said that if the agency has done nothing wrong, then it should welcome “the opportunity to share its work.”

“There is a very simple solution here – for the SBA to stop playing games and be fully transparent.”

The SBA, through a spokesperson, argued late Friday the agency rightly provided “extensive testimony, briefings, transcribed interviews, documents and other information in response to congressional inquires, including the Committee’s most recent subpoena.”

“We are continuing the work to fulfill the subpoena beyond our initial document production. Any suggestion that the agency is conducting improper work or that its response has been anything other than cooperative is simply not true,” the spokesperson added.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Advertisement

Read the full article from Here

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Nebraska

Huskers/OSU game three canceled

Published

on

Huskers/OSU game three canceled


Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

The third matchup this weekend between No. 9 Nebraska and No. 21 Oklahoma State was canceled Sunday due to expected bad weather in the Stillwater, Okla., area. The Cowgirls won the first matchup Thursday, 2-1 in 11 innings, while the Cornhuskers won Saturday, 4-3. The game will not be made up.

Nebraska now prepares for its home opener Thursday at Bowlin Stadium as the Huskers take on South Dakota State in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

North Dakota

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

Published

on

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing


(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

 

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakotans are semifinalists for the Bismarck State College president’s job as North Dakota State University narrows its presidential candidate list.

Valley City State University also is searching for a new president, with an application period closing this month..

Advertisement

Kevin Black, chair of the State Board of Higher Education and co-chair of the North Dakota State University Presidential Search Committee, said the committee reviewed over 60 applications. The committee is planning off-site interviews with candidates March 9-10 and campus visits with semifinal candidates March 23-27.

“We’re really excited about taking the next step and there’s some very quality people in there,” Black said.



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Ohio

9 people injured, 1 critical, after Cincinnati mass shooting

Published

on

9 people injured, 1 critical, after Cincinnati mass shooting


play

Nine people were injured after a shooting broke out at Riverfront Live on Cincinnati’s East Side early Sunday.

Advertisement

The shooting was reported about 1 a.m. March 1 at the Kellogg Avenue music venue on the border of East End and Linwood, according to Cincinnati Interim Police Chief Adam Hennie.

Dozens flooded out from inside the venue in a panic as gunshots rang out, according to a neighboring business’ surveillance camera footage obtained by Enquirer media partner Fox 19.

Eight of the people shot were taken to University of Cincinnati Medical Center and one person was brought to Good Samaritan Hospital, Hennie said.

One person at UC Medical Center is in critical condition, according to hospital spokeswoman Heather Chura-Smith. Five people are in stable condition and two have been treated and released, she said.

Advertisement

The status of the person at Good Samaritan Hospital is unknown. Hospital staff declined to provide an update on the person’s status.

An event was in progress at the venue, Hennie said, but he did not say what it was. A description on the venue’s website lists it as a “nightlife concert venue.”

Mayor Aftab Pureval called the shooting “unconscionable” in a statement.

This story will be updated.

Advertisement



Source link

Continue Reading

Trending