Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

3 hours ago

Israeli Officials to Hold Ceasefire Talks in Washington Amid Military Escalation in Gaza

5 hours ago

Trump Escalates Feud With Musk, Threatens Tesla, SpaceX Support

5 hours ago

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

20 hours ago

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

21 hours ago

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

22 hours ago

Will Valadao Spoil Trump’s Plan for July 4th ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Signing?

23 hours ago

Shaver Lake and Reedley 4th of July Shows Are Wednesday. Who Else Is Celebrating?

1 day ago
Democrats Warn White House to Expect Subpoena on Ukraine
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
October 2, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — House Democratic leaders warned the White House Wednesday to expect a subpoena demanding documents on President Donald Trump’s dealings with Ukraine, accusing the administration of “flagrant disregard” of previous requests and saying that refusal could be considered an impeachable offense.
Separately, the Democrats accused Trump of “an incitement to violence” against a national security whistleblower and advised him and his administration not to intimidate potential witnesses in their impeachment inquiry. The whistleblower exposed a July phone call that Trump had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in which Trump pressed for an investigation of Democratic political rival Joe Biden and his family.
House intelligence committee Chairman Adam Schiff, accusing Trump of inviting violence against the whistleblower, said any effort to interfere with the Democrats’ investigations would be considered evidence of obstruction and could be included in articles of impeachment.
“We’re not fooling around here,” he said.
Trump showed no signs of letting up, tweeting a vulgarity during the House leaders’ news conference and saying “the Do Nothing Democrats should be focused on building up our Country.” Throwing criticism broadly, he assailed Schiff as a “low-life” and said Pelosi’s San Francisco has turned into a “tent city” of homeless.


Trump has tweeted in recent days that he wants to “find out about” the whistleblower and question him or her, though the person’s identity is protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act.
The Democrats said they would subpoena the White House Friday for documents related to Trump’s dealings with Ukraine. House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings wrote in a memo to committee members that the action is necessary because the White House has ignored multiple requests.

Pompeo Acknowledges He Was on Phone Call Between Trump and Zelenskiy

Referring to a report on the whistleblower’s complaint, Cummings said that given the “stark and urgent warnings” the inspector general for the intelligence community has delivered to Congress, the panel has “no choice but to issue this subpoena.”
The subpoena will be directed toward acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and request 13 separate batches of documents related to the July call and other related matters. The call unfolded against the backdrop of a $250 million foreign aid package for Ukraine that was being readied by Congress but stalled by Trump.
White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said the subpoena is “nothing but more document requests, wasted time and taxpayer dollars that will ultimately show the president did nothing wrong.”
The subpoena announcement came as House and Senate staff prepared to meet with the State Department’s inspector general Wednesday afternoon. A State Department invitation, reviewed by The Associated Press, requested an “urgent” meeting with staff from eight House and Senate panels.
The invitation said the inspector general, Steve Linick, “would like to discuss and provide staff with copies of documents related to the State Department and Ukraine.” The documents were obtained from the State Department’s acting legal adviser, according to the email.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged Wednesday he was on the phone call between Trump and Zelenskiy that is at the center of the impeachment inquiry. He also continued to push back against what he said was Democrats’ “bullying and intimidation.”

Photo of a letter from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Shown is a letter from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 in Washington. (AP Photo/Wayne Partlow)

Volker’s Deposition Scheduled for Thursday

Democrats have scheduled closed-door depositions Thursday with former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker and next week with ousted U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and three other State Department officials. Pompeo told the committees on Tuesday that the dates they had set were “not feasible,” but at least some of the officials are still coming.

“Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress — including State Department employees — is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry.” — House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, House Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel in a Tuesday notice to Pompeo
The Democrats said that Pompeo’s resistance amounted to his own intimidation.
“Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress — including State Department employees — is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry,” said Schiff, Cummings and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel in a Tuesday notice to Pompeo.
They said that if he was on Trump’s call, “Secretary Pompeo is now a fact witness in the House impeachment inquiry.” And they warned, “He should immediately cease intimidating department witnesses in order to protect himself and the president.”
Democrats often note that obstruction was one of the impeachment articles against Richard Nixon, who resigned the presidency in 1974 in the face of almost certain impeachment.
The committees are seeking voluntary testimony from the current and former officials as the House digs into State Department actions and Trump’s other calls with foreign leaders that have been shielded from scrutiny. They have also subpoenaed Pompeo for documents.
Volker played a direct role in trying to arrange meetings between Rudy Giuliani, who is Trump’s personal lawyer, and Zelenskiy, the chairmen said. The State Department said that Volker has confirmed that he put a Zelenskiy adviser in contact with Giuliani, at the Ukraine adviser’s request.

Ukraine’s President Says He Never Met or Spoke With Giuliani

The former envoy, who has since resigned his position and so is not necessarily bound by Pompeo’s directions, is eager to appear as scheduled on Thursday, said one person familiar with the situation, but unauthorized to discuss it and granted anonymity. The career professional believes he acted appropriately and wants to tell his side of the situation, the person said.
Yovanovitch, the career diplomat whose abrupt recall from Ukraine earlier this year raised questions, is set to appear next week. The Democrats also want to hear from T. Ulrich Brechbuhl, a counselor at the State Department, who also listened in on the Trump-Zelenskiy call, they said.
A whistleblower alleged in an August letter to the inspector general for the intelligence community, Michael Atkinson, that the White House tried to “lock down” Trump’s July 25 phone call with the new Ukrainian president because it was worried about the contents being leaked to the public. The complaint was eventually made public after acting Director of Intelligence Joseph Maguire withheld it from Congress for several weeks.
In recent days, it has been disclosed that the administration similarly tried to restrict information about Trump’s calls with other foreign leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, by moving memos onto a highly classified computer system.
Ukraine’s president told reporters Tuesday he has never met or spoken with Giuliani. Zelenskiy insisted that “it is impossible to put pressure on me.” He said he stressed the importance of the military aid repeatedly in discussions with Trump, but “it wasn’t explained to me” why the money didn’t come through until September.
In Russia, Putin said scrutiny over the phone call showed that Trump’s adversaries are using “every excuse” to attack him.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Clovis Police Seek Public’s Help in Finding Missing 82-Year-Old Woman

DON'T MISS

Fresno Woman Killed in Head-On Collision, CHP Investigating

DON'T MISS

Musk Vows to Punish Lawmakers Who Back Trump’s Spending Bill

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Sentenced to Nearly 6 Years for $4.2 Million Tech Startup Fraud

DON'T MISS

Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty in Murders of Four Idaho Students, ABC News Reports

DON'T MISS

Wildfire Near Lake Madera Country Estates Burns 12 Acres, Now 100% Contained

DON'T MISS

Fresno County CHP Arrest Two in Interstate 5 Drug, Gun, and Counterfeit Money Bust

DON'T MISS

California Seizes Over 600,000 Pounds of Illegal Fireworks. Newsom Calls for Safe Celebrations

DON'T MISS

Where Trade Talks Stand With Major US Partners Ahead of Tariffs-Hike Deadline

DON'T MISS

Labor Icon Huerta Breaks Ground on Fresno Park Bearing Her Name

UP NEXT

Suspect Identified in Ambush Shooting That Killed 2 Idaho Firefighters

UP NEXT

US Supreme Court Lets Parents Take Kids Out of Classes With LGBT Storybooks

UP NEXT

Bill Moyers, Broadcaster and LBJ’s White House Press Secretary, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

Tesla Executive, Elon Musk Confidant Leaves EV Maker, Bloomberg News Reports

UP NEXT

How a Birthday Boat Ride on Lake Tahoe Turned Tragic

UP NEXT

Cuomo Concedes to Mamdani in New York City Democratic Mayoral Contest

UP NEXT

Mamdani Holds Lead Over Cuomo in Democratic Primary for NYC Mayor

UP NEXT

Clovis Man Sentenced to 8 Years in Federal Prison in Deadly Fentanyl Case

UP NEXT

Victims Identified as Death Toll Climbs to 8 in Lake Tahoe Boating Tragedy

UP NEXT

Florida to Build ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center for Migrants in Everglades

Fresno Police, CHP Crack Down on Impaired Driving for July 4th

53 minutes ago

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

2 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Amaury Fernandez

2 hours ago

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

3 hours ago

Visalia Police Investigate Deadly Shooting Near Bethlehem Center

3 hours ago

Trump-Backed Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Passes US Senate

3 hours ago

Homeland Security Secretary Noem Says CNN May Be Prosecuted Over Report on Migration App

4 hours ago

Musk Promises a New Political Party if the GOP Bill Passes

4 hours ago

Dollar Gains Ground Against Major Peers After Better-Than-Expected US Jobs Data

4 hours ago

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

Six Republicans in the California Legislature, including Minority Leader Brian Jones of San Diego, are urging President Donald Trump to use ...

27 minutes ago

27 minutes ago

California Republicans Send Message to Trump: Deport Criminals, Not Our Vital Workers

Fresno police arrested a suspect on suspicion of DUI Tuesday, July 1, 2025, morning after they showed up intoxicated to work, caused a disturbance, and struck another vehicle before arriving. (GV Wire/Anthony W. Haddad)
30 minutes ago

Fresno Police Arrest Intoxicated Employee Following Morning Disturbance

The U.S Capitol and an office are reflected in a window inside the Hart Senate Office Building as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Nathan Howard)
47 minutes ago

US Senate Strikes AI Regulation Ban From Trump Megabill

53 minutes ago

Fresno Police, CHP Crack Down on Impaired Driving for July 4th

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference after the Senate passes U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
2 hours ago

Despite Last-Minute Changes, Senate Bill Deals Big Blow to Renewable Energy

Zohran Mamdani addresses supporters on primary night, in New York, June 24, 2025. Mamdani, the democratic socialist whose blend of populist ideas and personal magnetism catapulted his upstart candidacy, has won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, according to The Associated Press. (Shuran Huang/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Zohran Mamdani Officially Wins Democratic Primary for New York City Mayor

Amaury Fernandez is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 1, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Amaury Fernandez

3 hours ago

CA Rolls Back Its Landmark Environmental Law to Speed Housing Construction

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend