Greene threatens criminal referrals at House DOGE hearing
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), threatened to make criminal referrals during a hearing on foreign aid on Wednesday.
“This committee, based on this hearing and witness testimonies, will consider recommending investigations and criminal referrals,” Greene said, at the start of her questioning.
The remark followed opening statements from several witnesses, including one who accused USAID of supporting terrorists, lacking proper oversight and engaging in “potentially criminal” activity.
“This committee should take action to ensure that the Department of Justice acts on it and does everything [in] Congress's power to not just investigate but refer criminal actions to the proper authorities,” said witness Gregg Roman, executive director of the Middle East Forum, during his opening statement.
Greene did not specify who the committee would look into for investigations or referrals. The congresswoman, however, spent much of her remarks at the hearing expressing concern over the way foreign aid was being spent and accusing USAID of being run by Democrats.
“The Democrat-run USAID should not get to use our federal government, our US taxpayer dollars, as their party piggy bank to push their radical agenda in countries that we have no business giving money to,” Greene said in her opening remarks.
“Maybe we should consider investigating whether USAID funding has made it back to Democrat campaigns. Has it affected elections?” she later added.
Greene, during the hearing, suggested President Biden used USAID to protect his son, Hunter Biden, by calling for the removal of a prosecutor general of Ukraine, Viktor Shokin, while serving in the Obama administration.
Greene repeated a frequent GOP talking point that Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion of a USAID grant if Shokin was not fired, claiming the then-vice president did so because the prosecutor was investigating Ukrainian energy company Burisma, on whose board Hunter Biden served.
“Is USAID supposed to be used as leverage by a president to protect his son?” Greene asked witness Max Primorac, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation.
“No, we call that corruption,” Primorac responded.
While Biden did threaten to withhold U.S. aid if Shokin was not fired, by that point Shokin was no longer investigating Burisma, and the international community was in agreement over a push to oust the prosecutor over corruption charges.
During Greene’s closing remarks, she again floated the prospect of criminal referrals.
“What we have heard today is that USAID has been used as a tool by Democrats to brainwash the world with globalist propaganda to force regime changes around the world,” Greene said.
“But if USAID funded terrorism that resulted in the death of Americans,” Greene continued, “then this committee will be making criminal referrals.”
Democrats have denounced the USAID cuts, claiming they would roll back progress globally.
Topics
-
South Korea's Yoon is in court for a hearing in his criminal trial
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is in court for a hearing where his lawyers are contesting his arrest on a criminal charge alleging he was orchestrating a rebellion when he imposed martial lawABC News - Feb. 19 -
Watch live: House hearing on DOJ 'weaponization'
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight is holding a hearing Tuesday afternoon examining the Department of Justice (DOJ) under former President Biden and the previous administration's ...The Hill - 1d -
PBM industry makes case ahead of House hearing
Click in for more news from The Hill {beacon} Health Care Health Care The Big Story Industry makes case for PBMs ahead of Capitol Hill hearing A measure to change how the pharmacy benefit ...The Hill - 1d -
Watch live: House trade panel holds hearing on enforcement priorities
The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade is convening a hearing Tuesday morning on trade enforcement and priorities as the Trump administration weighs additional tariffs on goods from trading ...The Hill - 1d -
Watch live: House holds hearing on birthright citizenship, 14th Amendment
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitution and Limited Government will convene a hearing Tuesday afternoon looking into the connection between the 14th Amendment and President Trump's recent ...The Hill - 1d -
Former VA cybersecurity official warns DOGE access threatens sensitive data
A former Department of Veterans Affairs cybersecurity official warned that the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to the department’s information threatens sensitive data stored ...The Hill - 1d -
House Democrat planning 'Bad DOGE Act'
Rep. Dave Min (D-Calif.) is planning to introduce a bill titled "Bad DOGE Act” in the House against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arguing that it is engaged in an "abuse of ...The Hill - 2d -
White House names interim DOGE administrator
The White House on Tuesday disclosed that the interim administrator of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is Amy Gleason after repeated questioning from reporters. A White House ...The Hill - 1d -
This is who the White House says is the DOGE acting administrator
The White House finally gave a name for the DOGE acting administrator.CBS News - 1d
More from The Hill
-
Supreme Court briefly pauses order for Trump admin to imminently release foreign aid
Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily delayed a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, imposed by a lower judge who found the ...The Hill - 57m -
Mulvaney says Trump, Musk 'itching for a fight' with courts on federal worker cuts
NewsNation contributor and former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said President Trump and Elon Musk are itching for a fight with the courts over their cuts to the federal workforce. ...The Hill - 1h -
Trump administration goes to Supreme Court to stave off midnight deadline to unfreeze foreign aid
The Justice Department filed an emergency application at the Supreme Court Wednesday asking to block a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in blocked ...The Hill - 2h -
DOJ doubles down on Supreme Court intervening in Trump firing case
The Justice Department doubled down on its demand that the Supreme Court step in to greenlight President Trump’s firing of a government whistleblower office head, warning in a Wednesday letter that ...The Hill - 3h -
VA reverses course, halts contract cancellations after pressure from Congress
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Wednesday paused an effort to terminate hundreds of contracts after pressure from Democrat lawmakers, according to Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee ...The Hill - 3h
More in Politics
-
Supreme Court briefly pauses order for Trump admin to imminently release foreign aid
Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily delayed a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in foreign aid payments, imposed by a lower judge who found the ...The Hill - 57m -
Mulvaney says Trump, Musk 'itching for a fight' with courts on federal worker cuts
NewsNation contributor and former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said President Trump and Elon Musk are itching for a fight with the courts over their cuts to the federal workforce. ...The Hill - 1h -
Trump administration goes to Supreme Court to stave off midnight deadline to unfreeze foreign aid
The Justice Department filed an emergency application at the Supreme Court Wednesday asking to block a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to unfreeze nearly $2 billion in blocked ...The Hill - 2h -
How a conspiracy theory on missing gold at Fort Knox spread to the White House
NBC News’ Steven Romo reports on how a conspiracy theory about missing gold at Fort Knox spread to the White House. The federal facility holds half of the country’s gold and has only been opened ...NBC News - 2h -
U.S. carries out strike against Al-Qaeda affiliate leader in Syria, officials say
According to two U.S. officials, the U.S. carried out a strike against a senior leader of an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in Syria. NBC News’ Courtney Kube reports.NBC News - 2h