Goodlatte Warns Strzok: It Is Your Unquestionable Duty To Cooperate With Congressional Investigations

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, warns witness Peter Strzok that he is duty-bound to cooperate with Congress. <blockquote<REP. GOODLATTE: Nonetheless -- nonetheless, the United States Supreme Court has recognized that it is, unquestionably, the duty of all citizens to cooperate with the Congress in its efforts to obtain the facts needed for intelligent legislative action. It is their unremitting obligation to respect the dignity of the Congress and its committees and to testify, fully, with respect to matters within the province of proper investigation. REP. NADLER: Mr. Chairman, you know -- or we all know that if we were to ask a question of a witness about a military secret. If we were to ask them, how does the H-bomb work, he could not answer that question. </blockquote> More: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bgu9AAL_EXA" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe> <blockquote>NADLER: Mr. Chairman, I have -- I raise my point of order and I insist on it. GOODLATTE: What is the point of order? NADLER: The United States Attorneys' Manual instructs department personnel not to respond to questions about the existence of an ongoing investigation or a comment on its nature or progress. In a letter to Congressman John Linder in 2000, referred to as the Linder letter, the department made this policy, explicitly, applicable to a request from Congress, quote, "All though Congress has a clear and legitimate interest in determining how the department enforces statutes, congressional inquiries during dependency (ph) of a matter poses an adherent threat to the integrity of the department's law enforcement and litigation functions", un-question -- unquote. Therefore, the chairman -- the question being directed at the -- at the witness is out of order, the witness' declination to answer it as against the instructions of the FBI, pursuant to FBI policy which is necessary, so it not to allow us to subvert an ongoing criminal investigation. He is right. GOODLATTE: The gentle... NADLER: And he should not answer the question. GOODLATTE: The gentleman has not stated a valid point of order. <blockquote>