Impeachment probe: Democrats may charge Donald Trump with obstruction as president’s allies stonewall
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says five State Department officials will not provide depositions to investigators as scheduled
- Warning from Democrats is an echo of Watergate, when articles of impeachment against Nixon included charge that administration defied congressional subpoenas
US President Donald Trump, desperate to undermine a fast-moving impeachment probe, could be adding to his troubles.
House Democrats say Trump’s stonewalling and threats to unmask a whistle-blower could lead to obstruction charges if articles of impeachment are drafted over the president’s request for Ukraine’s government to investigate a potential Democratic opponent in next year’s election.
“Congress will stand up to the massive obstruction of the Trump administration if they continue down this course,” congressman Ted Lieu, a California Democrat and member of the House Judiciary Committee that would play a central role in the impeachment process, said on Tuesday.
Trump’s allies made clear they are digging in their heels, however, resisting the Democrats’ demands for documents and testimony.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said five current and former State Department officials who dealt with Ukraine would not provide depositions to House investigators as scheduled because they had “woefully inadequate” time to prepare, and because the request was not made through normal channels.
In a sharply worded three-page letter to congressman Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Pompeo said the Democrats’ request “can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, and treat improperly” State Department professionals, including members of the foreign service.
