US House Democrats subpoena White House for documents in Trump impeachment

In a letter to US Vice-President Pence, the chairmen of three House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry wrote that they were interested in "any role you may have played" in conveying US President Donald Trump's views to Ukraine. PHOTO: EPA-EFE

WASHINGTON (NYTIMES) - US House impeachment investigators widened the reach of their inquiry on Friday (Oct 4), subpoenaing the White House for a vast trove of documents and requesting more from Vice-President Mike Pence in a bid to better understand President Donald Trump's attempts to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

The subpoena, addressed to Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, calls for documents and communications that are highly delicate and would typically be subject in almost any White House to claims of executive privilege.

If handed over by the Oct 18 deadline, the records could provide keys to understanding what transpired between the two countries and what steps, if any, the White House has taken to cover it up.

The request for records from a sitting vice-president is unusual in its own right, and Mr Pence's office quickly signalled he may not comply.

In a letter to Mr Pence, the chairmen of three House committees conducting the impeachment inquiry wrote that they were interested in "any role you may have played" in conveying Mr Trump's views to Ukraine.

They asked for a lengthy list of documents detailing the administration's dealings with Ukraine, to be produced by Oct 15.

Ms Katie Waldman, Mr Pence's press secretary, promptly said that "given the scope, it does not appear to be a serious request but just another attempt by the 'Do Nothing Democrats' to call attention to their partisan impeachment".

But that will not help Mr Trump's case on Capitol Hill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the chairmen leading the inquiry have consistently warned the White House that noncompliance with their requests will be viewed as obstruction of Congress, a potentially impeachable offence.

In addition to the new subpoena and request, a significant subpoena deadline for the State Department to hand over similar material in its possession was also scheduled to arrive by the end of the day. It was not immediately clear if the department had complied or not.

The House committees are scheduled to interview additional witnesses next week. Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union and a Trump supporter who has been actively involved in diplomacy with Ukraine, is expected to appear on Tuesday, and Marie Yovanovitch, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, on Friday.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.