What did Secretary of State Mike Pompeo know about Ukraine and when did he know it? Clearly, that’s what Democrats on three House committees want to know, given that they issued subpoenas for documents on Friday pursuant to their impeachment inquiry. That wasn’t all: They declared that a “failure or refusal to comply […] shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry.”
House Committee on Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) each signed the letter to Pompeo.
In it, they demanded documents by Oct. 4, and set depositions between Oct. 2 and Oct. 10.
“This subpoena is being issued by the Committee on Foreign Affairs after consultation with the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Oversight and Reform,” they letter said. “The subpoenaed documents shall be part of the impeachment inquiry and shared among the Committees. Your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena shall constitute evidence fo obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry.”
From there, the chairmen explained what they were investigating (i.e. what they needed the documents for).
“The Committees are investigating the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election and by withholding security assistance provided by Congress to help Ukraine counter Russia aggression,” they said, adding that they already asked Pompeo to produce documents by Sept. 16 and did not receive them.
Nor did other State Department employees’ names — names that popped up in the whistleblower complaint — escape mention.
Counselor of the Department T. Ulrich Brechbuhl “listened in” on the July 25 phone call between Trump and and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, said the whistleblower; Special Representative for Ukraine Kurt Volker “played a direct role in arranging meetings between Rudy Giuliani, and representatives of President Zelensky, ” said the chairmen.
Giuliani himself said that was the case on Twitter. Volker resigned on Friday.
“Your continued refusal to provide the requested documents not only prevents our Committees from fully investigating these matters, but impairs Congress’ ability to fulfill its Constitutional responsibilities to protect our national security and the integrity of our democracy,” the letter said.
You can read the letter to Pompeo below.
This is a developing story.
Democrats Subpoena Mike Pompeo by Law&Crime on Scribd
[Image via BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP/Getty Images]
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