The CFPB director’s failure to respond to subpoena requests by a House committee led to the staff report finding
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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray is facing a potential charge of contempt of the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a report from Reuters.
Republican staff of the House Financial Services Committee on Friday released a report in which they said that there was “ample evidence” to hold the director in contempt. The conclusion follows Cordray’s failure to comply with the committee’s subpoena requests, Reuters said.
Read more: Hensarling demands investigation into whether CFPB director violated hatch act
Records related to the bureau’s efforts to ban mandatory arbitration clauses from financial contracts were the object of the congressional subpoenas. These include communications between bureau staff and meetings with outside groups. The subpoenas were part of an investigation by Republicans into whether the bureau’s rules on mandatory arbitration clauses were written following proper procedures.
Although the ban has been in place since July, House Republicans are attempting to undo it, according to Reuters. Under contracts with mandatory arbitration clauses, consumers are required to resolve disputes through arbitration rather than participating in a class-action suit.
Jeff Emerson, a spokesman for the House committee, did not immediately respond to Reuter’s request for comment on whether contempt charges would actually be sought.
Meanwhile, Jen Howard, spokeswoman for the CFBP, responded to the staff report by saying that the bureau has already produced “thousands of pages” in compliance with the subpoenas.
"We will continue our efforts to understand how we can respond to the committee in a satisfactory manner," Howard said in a statement to Reuters.
Read next: Cordray should commit to full-term or quit CFPB now - Hensarling
"The Republican attacks on Director Cordray and the Consumer Bureau are entirely baseless, and there are no grounds at all for them to hold the director in contempt," Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), the top Democrat on the committee, said in a statement to Reuters.
