Obamacare: HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius warned about being criminally charged with obstruction of justice
It is about time that the Congress of the United States fulfilled its duties and stops allowing the Obama Administration to stonewall their inquires in an effort to “run out the clock” on criminal liabilities and/or destroy pertinent documents. There are serious questions regarding the ability of President Obama to delay inquiries by falsely declaring “executive privilege” and shifting this matter into the courts where it may take years to litigate. There are also serious questions about President Obama’s potential use of “Presidential Pardons” to absolve any and all participants of criminal charges should they be brought by Congress.
Here is the warning shot on Obamacare. Criminal obstruction of justice is a very serious matter, and an impeachable offense …
December 11, 2013 The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius Dear Madam Secretary: Pursuant to the Committee's oversight I requested relevant documents from several companies that contracted with the Department of Health and Human Services for work related to the HealthCare.gov website. The Department subsequently instructed those companies not to comply with the Committee's request. The Department's hostility toward questions from Congress and the media about the implementation of ObamaCare is well known. The Department's most recent effort to stonewall, however, has morphed from mere obstinacy into criminal obstruction of a congressional investigation. In a December 6, 2013, letter to Creative Computing Solutions, Inc. (CCSI), the Department claimed that the company is contractually precluded from producing documents to Congress. The letter further stated that the Department will respond to requests from Congress on the company's behalf. It is my understanding that CCSI was not the only contractor to receive a letter like this. The letter to CCSI stated that the company is: [N]ot authorized to disclose to third parties information collected or maintained by or on behalf of a federal agency, including information collected, or information produced during security testing. * * * If you receive a request for this information from Congress, CMS will respond directly to the requestor and will work with the requestor to address its interests in this information. The Department's instruction not to cooperate with congressional investigators relies on language in the contract with CCSI which precludes contractors from sharing certain data with third parties. Moreover, the Department explicitly forbids the release of documents without authorization from CMS. That argument-that the language in the contract between the Department and a private company supersedes Congress' constitutional prerogative to conduct oversight-is without merit. In fact, it strains credulity to such an extent that it creates the appearance that the Department is using the threat of litigation to deter private companies from cooperating with Congress. The Department's attempt to threaten CCSI for the purpose of deterring the company from providing documents to Congress places the officials responsible for drafting and sending the letter on the wrong side of federal statutes that prohibit obstruction of a congressional investigation. Obstructing a Congressional investigation is a crime. Section 1505 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code states, in pertinent part: Whoever corruptly, or by threats or force, or by any threatening letter or communication influences, obstructs, or impedes or endeavors to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper administration of the law under which any pending proceeding is being had before any department or agency of the United States, or the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any inquiry or investigation is being had by either House, or any committee of either House or any joint committee of the Congress, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both. The federal obstruction laws reflect the fact that Congress' right of access to information is constitutionally based and critical to the integrity and effectiveness of our oversight and investigative activities. For that reason, it is widely understood that private citizens and companies cannot contract away their duty to comply with a congressional request for documents. Furthermore, the Department's instruction to CCSI and other contractors not to respond to congressional document requests runs afoul of a federal statute that prohibits interfering with an employees' right to furnish information to Congress. Under that statute, any effort to enforce a contract that prevents a federal employee -- or in this case, a contractor -- from communicating with Congress is unlawful. The Committee takes any effort to obstruct or otherwise interfere with its investigations very seriously. I request that you direct all employees in your Department to cease obstructing the Committee's investigation of the implementation of the ACA through HealthCare.gov. It is my expectation that you and your staff will have no further communication with the contractors in question regarding the Committee's requests for documents and information. I remind you that an October 30, 2013, subpoena issued to you -- which remains in effect-- would capture the information that I requested from contractors. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the principal oversight committee of the House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate "any matter" at "any time" under House Rule X. Full letter source with footnotes and references: Oversight Committee |
Bottom line …
Kathleen Sebelius should have been fired years ago when it became apparent that her department knew that the President of the United States and other top elected and appointed officials were lying to the American public in order to gather public support for unilateral legislation that was unconstitutional and passed using a “rules trick” of the Senate. There is so much corruption of the legislative process by the progressive socialist democrats, that I suggest that everyone who voted for this bill is complicit in a criminal fraud on the citizens of the United States and that there are provable damages to millions of American citizens whose lives have been disrupted by the so-called Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act – whose very name is a lie. Not to mention the lobbying and special interest corruption – and the transfer of millions of dollars to political entities that are little more than community organizers for the progressive socialist democrats.
We need to toss all of the progressive socialist democrats out of office – with the exception of one of the most honest men in Congress, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) who has openly identified himself as a socialist and who caucuses with the progressive democrat socialist party. And, to pursue “truth in advertising,” perhaps we should re-label the progressive socialist democrats as the Communist Party of the United States?
-- steve
“Nullius in verba”-- take nobody's word for it!
"Acta non verba" -- actions not words
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance.”-- George Bernard Shaw
“Progressive, liberal, Socialist, Marxist, Democratic Socialist -- they are all COMMUNISTS.”
“The key to fighting the craziness of the progressives is to hold them responsible for their actions, not their intentions.” – OCS "The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius “A people that elect corrupt politicians, imposters, thieves, and traitors are not victims... but accomplices” -- George Orwell “Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt." (The people gladly believe what they wish to.) ~Julius Caesar “Describing the problem is quite different from knowing the solution. Except in politics." ~ OCS