Exclusive / Democrats press Trump administration on Venezuela oil deal - Semafor

Top House Democrats are pressing the Trump administration for answers on the oil deal struck with Venezuela, homing in on the role of Venezuelan businessman Alejandro Betancourt.

“Congress has a right to know who the president has chosen to conduct business with and whether he is collaborating with an alleged criminal with a history of white-collar misdeeds,” wrote the top Democrats on three committees — Reps. Robert Garcia of the Oversight Committee, Gregory Meeks of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Jared Huffman of the House Natural Resources Committee — in a letter to the State and Justice departments that was shared with Semafor.

Although the Trump administration has no legal obligation to respond to the letter, the three Democrats are likely to be chairs if the House flips this fall, giving them the power to subpoena the Trump administration next Congress.

The letter suggests a potential line of inquiry Democrats may take up if they win the House majority. It references reports about US officials’ efforts to intervene in an international money laundering investigation into Betancourt and asks for information about that episode, as well as details of Betancourt’s involvement in the Venezuela deal.