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‘Hand grenade’ Rudy Giuliani refuses to cooperate with Donald Trump impeachment inquiry

  • US president’s personal lawyer will not comply with subpoena seeking documents relating to his Ukraine activities
  • Senior diplomat George Kent appears before US lawmakers, despite attempts by White House to officials to block officials from testifying

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Rudy Giuliani at a White House event in July 2018. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani will not cooperate with a US House of Representatives impeachment inquiry that is scrutinising his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate a Trump political rival, Giuliani’s lawyer said on Tuesday.

Giuliani’s lawyer, Jon Sale, told a lawyer for the three Democratic-led House committees leading the inquiry that the former New York mayor would refuse to comply with a subpoena seeking documents relating to his activities concerning Ukraine.

“This appears to be an unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate ‘impeachment inquiry,’” Sale wrote, echoing language the White House used last week in saying it would not cooperate with the inquiry that threatens Trump’s presidency.

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The move represented the latest effort by Trump and those close to him to refuse any cooperation with the inquiry. Despite that, several US officials involved in the matter who received subpoenas from the three committees have testified.

Even as Giuliani refused to comply, lawmakers were hearing closed-door testimony from a senior US diplomat, George Kent.

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