Chairwoman Maloney's Statement on Court Decision Upholding Committee Members' Right to Sue Executive Branch for Information

Press Release

Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, issued the following statement after the D.C. Circuit rejected a challenge to an earlier decision upholding the right of seven Committee Members to bring suit seeking information from the Executive Branch pursuant to 5 U.S.C. section 2954, a statute known as the "Seven Member Rule":

"I welcome this ruling upholding the rights of Members of the Oversight Committee to go to court to obtain information from the Executive Branch as part of our critical oversight function. This victory is an important step in ensuring the Committee and its Members have the tools they need to get to the bottom of former President Trump's flagrant and unprecedented conflicts of interest and ensure no president uses the office for private financial gain."

Today's ruling upheld a December 29, 2020, decision by the D.C. Circuit holding that Committee Members have standing under the Constitution to sue to obtain information from the Executive Branch related to the Trump Hotel in Washington, D.C.

The lawsuit was brought in response to stonewalling by the Trump Administration and refusal to turn over documents related to former President Trump's conflicts of interest and the Trump Hotel, despite numerous concerns raised by the Oversight Committee over the General Services Administration's management of the federal lease

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