McCaul Rejects Democrats' Demand for Hearing on White Supremacists

WASHINGTON -- In the wake of a neo-Nazi rally in Virginia on Saturday that turned deadly, congressional Democrats demanded a hearing on white supremacists and the threat of domestic terrorism.On Tuesday, House Homeland Security Chairman Michael McCaul, an Austin Republican, rebuffed the request. Rather than a stand-alone hearing focused on the Ku Klux Klan, white nationalists and others involved in the "Unite the Right" rally, McCaul will channel such inquiries through an annual assessment next month of worldwide threats to the homeland."The Committee will hold our annual worldwide threats to the homeland hearing in September with key government leaders. Members will be able to ask questions about any and all pressing homeland threats, including acts of terror here at home," a committee aide said.Rep. Lou Correa of California, a senior Democrat on McCaul's committee, wrote the chairman on Monday to urge a hearing on domestic terrorism. He noted that a number of leading Republicans condemned the violence Saturday in Charlottesville, at a rally that featured former Klan grand wizard David Duke and Dallas native Richard Spencer, a leader of the self-described "alt-right," as domestic terrorism.  Continue reading...