Just Before Trump Spoke Last Night, The House Gave Him Political Cover

You may have missed this story:

House Republicans have rejected a Democratic effort to require the Justice Department to provide Congress with information about President Donald Trump's finances and possible campaign ties to Russia.

The GOP-led Judiciary Committee on Tuesday defeated the resolution on a party-line vote of 18-16. Republicans said it would be premature and duplicative of their own efforts on the matter.

The committee vote came a day after the full, Republican-led House blocked an attempt by Democrats to force Trump to release his tax returns to Congress.

What they blocked was this legislation - it's a "Resolution of Inquiry" that is looking for any information regarding:

(1) any criminal or counterintelligence investigation targeting President Donald J. Trump, National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone, or any employee of the Executive Office of the President;

(2) any investment by any foreign government or agent of a foreign government in any entity owned in whole or in part by President Donald J. Trump;

(3) President Trump’s proposal to maintain an interest in his business holdings, while turning over day-to-day operation of those interests to his sons Donald J. Trump, Jr., and Eric Trump;

(4) President Trump’s plan to donate the profits of any foreign governments’ use of his hotels to the United States Treasury, including the decision to exclude other payments by foreign governments to any other business holdings of the Trump Organization from that arrangement;

(5) the Foreign Emoluments Clause (U.S. Constitution, Article I, § 9, Clause 8) as it may pertain to President Donald J. Trump or any employee of the Executive Office of the President

As well as any documents regarding any other conflict of interest and so on.

The Constitution constructs the three branches in such a way that each has the responsibility to be a check and balance for the other two.  In this case it's the responsibility of the House Judiciary Committee to investigate any possible criminal activity of the Executive Branch (like ties to the adversarial power that hacked the DNC in order to influence a presidential election OR any conflicts of interest arising out of the Chief Executive's refusal to separate himself from his business enterprises OR his violation of the Foreign Emoluments Clause).

Or the the majority republicans on the committee can give Trump some political cover.

Yay, America!