Cummings Asks Gowdy to Enforce Subpoena Issued to TSA Eight Months Ago for Documents After Repeated Warnings About Airport Security

Nov 14, 2017
Press Release

Cummings Asks Gowdy to Enforce Subpoena Issued to TSA Eight Months Ago for Documents After Repeated Warnings About Airport Security

 

Ranking Member Also Seeks Deposition Subpoenas for Three TSA Officials Who Declined to Be Interviewed Voluntarily

 

Washington, D.C. (Nov. 14, 2017)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Chairman Trey Gowdy requesting that the Committee enforce its subpoena for documents from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)—which TSA has been defying since March—in light of “extremely grave classified and unclassified warnings” about TSA’s challenges in securing our nation’s airports.

Cummings also requested that the Committee issue subpoenas to compel depositions with three TSA officials—Deputy Administrator Huban Gowadia, Chief Counsel Francine Kerner, and former Acting Assistant Administrator Steven Colon—who have all declined to participate voluntarily in transcribed interviews since May.

“TSA is continuing to experience repeated failures in its security mission, and the agency has refused to comply with the Committee’s subpoena for documents and requests for interviews that are directly relevant to the Committee’s ongoing bipartisan oversight of the agency,” Cummings wrote.  “I urge you to join me in taking action to compel the agency to comply with the Committee’s oversight efforts.”

Cummings explained that if Gowdy declined these requests, he will be forced to consider making motions for subpoenas at the Committee’s hearing this Wednesday.  The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, who will be testifying at Wednesday’s hearing, has issued two classified reports in recent weeks warning that many security deficiencies his office identified remain unresolved.

In March, then-Chairman Jason Chaffetz issued a subpoena to then-Acting Administrator Gowadia requiring TSA to produce the outstanding documents.  Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings also asked TSA to make Gowadia, Colon, and Kerner available for transcribed interviews by May 16, 2017.

TSA defied the subpoena, refused to produce the documents, and declined to make the three employees available for transcribed interviews.

Click here to read today’s letter.

115th Congress