WASHINGTON (CN) – Ratcheting up the impeachment inquiry, the head of the House Oversight Committee warned the White House on Wednesday to expect a formal subpoena for records related to President Donald Trump’s call with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky.
“I do not take this step lightly,” House Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings wrote.
In the 10-page memo, Cummings described the White House’s refusal to answer multiple voluntary requests for records as “flagrant disregard” for Congress and that they have been left with “no choice” but to issue a subpoena as soon as this Friday.
Cummings requested the White House provide all documents memorializing communications between Trump and the leader of “any other foreign country” that may relate to Trump’s admitted attempt to pressure Zelensky to investigate his 2020 opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s son, Hunter.
In addition to records related to the July 25 call, the committee seeks a list of all individuals who participated in a call between Trump and Zelensky on April 21.
Specifically, the committee wants correspondence from administration officials like Attorney General William Barr and key White House figures like Vice President Mike Pence.
Also sought are records from other officials like the assistant to the president for national security affairs; the assistant’s deputy; the senior director for European affairs; all directors covering energy affairs, including those directly involved with European and Russian affairs; the senior director for the directorate of international economics; and all White House Situation Room duty officers who staffed the July 25 call.
During a Wednesday press conference with House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said Congress had “no choice but to go forward” on the impeachment inquiry.
“This is a very sad time for the country,” she said. “Impeaching the president or having an investigation to impeach the president is nothing to be joyful about. It is a sad time. … It’s hard, we want to weigh the equities and be fair as we go forward.”
Schiff said he expects the White House to stonewall congressional oversight requests but that any attempt to do so will be considered further evidence of obstruction on behalf of the Trump administration.
“We will also draw the inference as appropriate that they are trying to conceal facts that would corroborate allegations of the whistleblower complaint,” Schiff said. “We’ll have to decide whether to litigate or how to litigate, but we’re not fooling around here. We won’t have this drag on months and months, which appears to be the administration’s strategy.”
Schiff underscored that Congress would do everything in its power to protect the whistleblower’s identity despite Trump’s repeated demands he or she be identified.
