With Texas congressmen holding positions of great power and influence, they have the unique opportunity to “drain the swamp.” But as it regards the recently revealed collusion between the Democrats and the Deportment of Justice, it appears the one Texan who could be doing something bold is instead doing nothing.
Houston-area Republican John Culberson is chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the DOJ and the FBI.
Interestingly, the last statement in the files section on his Appropriations Subcommittee website is dated Dec. 18, 2017.  Under the “Committee Schedule,” it shows that no events are available.  Under “Press Releases,” there is a Dec. 21, 2017 press release.
Given the outrage over the politicization of the DOJ in attacking the President of the United States and undermining the authoprity of Congress, one might expect a social media post or two from the top funder of the DOJ and FBI.
Nothing.
Since Chairman Culberson declined to take his chairmanship out for a spin again today, Empower Texans found a committee chairman responsible for uncovering more FBI texts that point of an out of control bureaucracy.  As it turns out, though, that chairman is in the Senate, and isn’t from Texas.
Full copy of lengthy statement below follows so our congressmen from Texas can steal this playbook.
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton recently put it well on Twitter:

The new FBI text messages had been withheld by DOJ/FBI/Mueller from Congress and the American people for months. @RealDonaldTrump needs to clean house. @JudicialWatch suing for them all. https://t.co/ufLvl0pOFL

— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) February 7, 2018

Your move, Chairman Culberson.  Failure to move on this case is a wasted opportunity to drain the swamp, and essentially a forfeiture of your chairmanship in the eyes of many Texans.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a majority staff report Wednesday titled “The Clinton Email Scandal And The FBI’s Investigation Of It,” along with text messages between two agents that shed light on the investigation. The report details the congressional investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server and the oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s involvement with their investigation of Secretary Clinton’s private server.
The report outlines how information available to the committee at this time raises serious questions about how the FBI applied the rule of law in its investigation. The majority staff report found that:

• The FBI did not use a grand jury to compel testimony and obtain the vast majority of evidence, choosing instead to offer immunity deals and allow fact witnesses to join key interviews.

• There were substantial edits to former FBI Director James Comey’s public statement that served to downplay the severity of Secretary Clinton’s actions, and that the first draft of the memo was distributed for editing two months before key witnesses were interviewed.

• Director Comey stated that he had not consulted with the Justice Department or White House, when text messages among FBI agents involved in the investigation suggest otherwise. Two key investigators discuss an “insurance policy” against the “risk” of a Trump presidency, and “OUR task.”

• Messages discuss “unfinished business,” “an investigation leading to impeachment,” and “my gut sense and concern there’s no big there there.” The messages strongly underscore the need to obtain still-missing text messages and other information regarding the FBI’s actions and investigations into the Clinton email scandal and Russian involvement in the November 2016 election.

• Senior FBI officials—likely including Deputy Director Andrew McCabe— knew about newly discovered emails on a laptop belonging to former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner for almost a month before Director Comey notified Congress.

The full report can be found here.
The FBI text messages can be found here.
The letters Chairman Johnson has sent to various agencies and source documents can be found here.

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Michael Quinn Sullivan

Michael Quinn Sullivan is the publisher of Texas Scorecard. He is a native Texan, a graduate of Texas A&M, and an Eagle Scout. Previously, he has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine contributor, Capitol Hill staffer, and think tank vice president. Michael and his wife have three adult children, a son-in-law, and a dog. Michael is the author of three books, including "Reflections on Life and Liberty."