Trump budget officials said they refuse to testify during the impeachment investigation
President Donald Trump listens while acting Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought speaks during an October 9 executive order signing regarding federal regulations.It's unclear whether the OMB officials had been subpoenaed or were just asked to appear for private testimony. The Intelligence Committee, one of three House panels leading the inquiry, declined to comment. Vought wasearlier this month for documents, but he refused to provide them by last week's deadline.
In recent weeks, the White House has sought to block several administration officials from testifying, but the subsequent issuing of subpoenas led several officials to defy the White House and answer lawmakers' questions. It's unclear what action the committee may choose to take in response to Vought's and Duffey's refusals. The panel pointed to a"Dear Colleague" letter penned last week by Chairman Adam Schiff, which said the"flouting of congressional subpoenas and requests as we conduct an investigation of immense constitutional gravity is unacceptable."
"We will consider defiance of subpoenas as evidence of the President's effort to obstruct the impeachment inquiry, and we may also use that obstruction as additional evidence of the wrongfulness of the President's underlying misconduct," Schiff said.that earlier this year, Duffey, with the White House's authorization, continued to withhold the military aid from Ukraine after OMB staffers questioned the legality of the delay.
White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who is also the OMB director, admitted last week there was a quid pro quo when speaking about the conditions the White House wanted Ukraine to agree to in order to receive the congressionally appropriated funding. He has since walked back those comments.
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