Dems subpoena Pompeo over Ukraine papers
29 September, 2019
Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives who are pursuing an impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump forged ahead with their probe on Friday, issuing a subpoena to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for documents concerning contact with the Ukrainian government.
Following a whistleblower complaint that Trump, a Republican, solicited a political favor from Ukraine’s president that could help him get re-elected, the lawmakers are investigating concerns that Trump’s actions have jeopardized national security and the integrity of U.S. elections.
The House Foreign Affairs, Intelligence and Oversight Committees also scheduled depositions for five State Department officials over the next two weeks, including Kurt Volker, Trump’s envoy to Ukraine. Volker resigned his post on Friday, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The reason for Volker’s resignation was not immediately known. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the subpoena or Volker’s resignation.
The committees announced the subpoena after the Trump administration missed a Thursday deadline to provide documents and information about contacts with Ukrainian officials, as well as a July 25 telephone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
The impeachment inquiry has cast a new pall over Trump’s presidency just months after he emerged from the shadow cast by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether he colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.
Trump has reacted furiously to the impeachment inquiry, arguing he did nothing wrong, and accusing Democrats of launching a politically motivated “witch hunt.”
More than 300 former national security officials from both Republican and Democratic administrations on Friday endorsed the impeachment inquiry, saying they did not prejudge the outcome but wanted to know more facts.