{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://neal.house.gov/2023/12/01/news-documentsingle-aspx-documentid-3833/", "Neal Blasts Republicans\u2019 Continued Weaponization of Ways and Means", "2023-12-01", "2023", "2023-12", "Democrat", "House", "MA", "Richard E. Neal", "N000015", "neal.house.gov", "neal", "https://neal.house.gov/category/press-releases/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.\n\nAhead of Ways and Means Republicans calling another closed-door session to peddle refuted claims, Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) blasted their illegitimate, fact-free inquiry and demanded transparency for the American people:\n\n\u201cI struggle to call House Republicans\u2019 fishing expedition an investigation when it\u2019s been run without any investigating. It\u2019s been nearly a year of recycling debunked conspiracy theories in hopes the public will start to believe their lies. No evidence, no wrongdoing. In the Ways and Means Committee, we had whistleblowers come forward, we heard them out, and their claims were refuted by several top officials. Next week\u2019s closed-door session is a meek attempt to rehabilitate credibility to bolster House Republicans flailing inquiry. There is no new information to share, and the American people deserve the transparency of an open hearing.\n\n\u201cRepeating lies won\u2019t make them facts, and the fact is: after months of so-called investigation, House Republicans are in the same place that they started. Not only have they not turned up a shred of wrongdoing or political interference by President Biden or his Administration, but they also continue to debunk their own claims.\n\n\u201cIn the least productive Congress since the Great Depression, my Republican colleagues need to put the weapon of mass distraction down and pick up the work of the American people.\u201d\n\nKEY FACTS\n\nRepublicans are putting all their energy toward their quarter-baked investigation based on recycled, debunked conspiracy theories while refusing to govern. After the most recent Republican witnesses both disputed allegations of any retaliation or political interference, Ways and Means Republicans are desperate to breathe new life into their flailing inquiry.\n\nDarrell Waldon, the immediate supervisor of Mr. Gary Shapley, testified that he did not believe there was political pressure put on the investigation.\n\nHe also stressed that it was his decision, along with his supervisor (Michael Batdorf), to remove the IRS whistleblower from the investigation in December 2022for \u201cunsubstantiated allegations about motive, intent, bias,\u201d well before Mr. Shapley came before Congress.\n\nMr. Waldon did not recall Weiss saying he was denied Special Counsel status.\n\nMichael Batdorf, the supervisor of Mr. Waldon and Director of Field Operations for IRS CI. He testified it was his decision, in consultation with Mr. Waldon, to remove the whistleblower from the investigation in December 2022to \u201cmove the case forward\u201d and that there was no reason to inform Mr. Shapley because the case was dormant.\n\n\u201cI just want to go on the record. In my 22.5 years, I have never made a decision or restricted anyone out of spite, out of retaliation, out of anything. That is not who I am.\u201d\n\n\u201cGary has a tendency to go to level like grade seven, five-alarm alarm fire on everything\u2026But, again, he has the mindset that he should report directly to a DFO or a chief, all his investigations rise to this level. He has a mindset that if you don\u2019t agree with him, I mean, \u2018You\u2019re just incompetent, and I\u2019ll cut you out and I\u2019ll go straight to the DFO.\u2019\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://neal.house.gov/2023/12/01/news-documentsingle-aspx-documentid-3833/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.264824066311121, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}