Himes readies House Intelligence probes of spy-industry's Trump dealings

Intel-industry contractors prepare for oversight if Democrats win House

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, is preparing to investigate the spy industry’s work with the Trump administration if Democrats win the House majority in November’s elections, according to a Monday letter he sent to a defense-industry trade group and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

The letter, addressed to David Norquist, the president and CEO of the National Defense Industrial Association, signals the contours of an aggressive Democratic oversight agenda that would take shape if Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) becomes Speaker and Himes claims the gavel of the powerful intelligence panel. As ranking member, and possibly as chair next year of the powerful congressional panel, Himes has immense sway over the tens of billions of dollars spent on American intelligence.

Himes wrote that the administration appeared to have “inappropriately fuse[d] the government contracting process with the attempted extraction of political or private favors,” and used the phrase “nakedly corrupt dealings” to characterize the pattern. Himes cited corporate contributions for the construction of the White House ballroom as an example, and wrote that the committee may seek “documents, transcribed testimony and internal communications” from companies that both helped fund the ballroom’s construction and work with the U.S. intelligence community.

“The Committee may also consider whether contributions of this kind create actual or apparent conflicts of interest and national security risks,” Himes wrote, adding that related legislation might follow.

Himes’s message is a signal to industry that Democrats are itching to exercise oversight authorities, including issuing subpoenas if warranted, and that any company under his jurisdiction — a U.S. intelligence community contractor — must be ready to cooperate, he said.

In an interview, Himes described the last two years as “a cesspool of coercion” and said companies under the panel’s future jurisdiction should be prepared to answer the committee. “I’m not prepared to say that I know that there’s illegal activity here that will result in the revocation of contracts, but I do know that there’s all kinds of dirty conflicts of interest here,” he said.

The Journal reported in August that some U.S. companies with close ties to Trump, particularly large technology firms, were preparing for potential congressional investigations and making political contributions to Democratic candidates ahead of the midterms to counterbalance funding they had provided to the White House ballroom and other Republican-led initiatives.

Susanne Sachsman Grooms, a partner at the law firm Cooley, said she is already advising multiple corporate clients on how to mitigate risk and navigate potential inquiries should Democrats lead at least one chamber of Congress. “We’re both helping companies prepare for what might be coming and that’s everything from having us as lawyers to represent them and knowing who they are going to call to thinking through their risk areas and who might investigate them,” Grooms said in an interview.

The White House dismissed the emerging agenda as recycled political opposition. “Democrats have spent a decade recycling investigations and accusations against President Trump, his family and his administration,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. “The president remains focused on delivering results for the American people, not partisan political theater.”

Lawmakers and aides said they are worried the White House may decline to cooperate with congressional investigations and see outreach to industry contractors as a strategy to gather information that could not be obtained by targeting the administration directly.

Investigating alleged corruption between the private sector and the Trump administration will also be a priority for Democrats who want to use majority powers to shape an agenda ahead of the 2028 elections, focused on ending corruption, stopping price gouging and improving access to healthcare. Jeffries has said repeatedly that Democrats would interpret an election sweep this fall as a mandate to hold the Trump administration accountable. Lawmakers in the past have said that mission could involve scrutinizing the White House’s handling of the war with Iran, the president’s and his family’s business dealings, Trump’s efforts to build the ballroom, his ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and the actions of federal immigration officials.

Himes said he would be at the center of that effort. He said he has been dismayed by institutions — universities, law firms and news outlets — pressured to bend to the Trump administration’s will.

“It’s like the core tenet of authoritarianism,” Himes said in the interview. “You blur all the boundaries and eventually the churches, the media, the corporate sector — they’re all on your team.”

Himes said he would likely work closely with the expected chairs of the House Oversight and Judiciary committees who are also preparing investigations. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), expected to lead the Judiciary panel next year if Democrats take the majority, said in an interview last week that when he sees possible wrongdoing or corruption, he asks his staff to write a memo. “The president and his family are at the center of the corruption of the executive branch but it does emanate and ramify from there. It just goes out in a whole bunch of directions,” Raskin said.

In his interview, Himes acknowledged that Democrats have made mistakes when they have presumed guilt before completing investigations, citing his party’s claims that Trump aides colluded with the Russian government to sway the 2016 elections. The investigation led by former FBI Director Robert Mueller concluded that Russia attempted to influence the vote but did not establish clear coordination with members of Trump’s 2016 campaign.

“What I’m looking for is transparency and disclosure and understanding. And if that transparency and that disclosure happens to float illegal activity, we’ll take that into account,” Himes said. “It’s not about punishment. It’s about shining a light when you have a massively coercive administration.”

Polling shows Democrats favored to win the House, with flipping the Senate considered a more difficult target.