President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, seen here on Aug. 1, 2018, will not co-operate with a U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry that is scrutinizing his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate a Trump political rival, his lawyer said.The Associated Press
U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani will not co-operate with a U.S. House of Representatives impeachment inquiry that is scrutinizing his efforts to put pressure on Ukraine to investigate a Trump political rival, Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer said on Tuesday.
Mr. 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,’” Mr. Sale wrote, echoing language the White House used last week in saying it would not co-operate with the inquiry that threatens Mr. Trump’s presidency.
The move represented the latest effort by Mr. Trump and those close to him to refuse any co-operation with the inquiry. Despite that, several U.S. officials involved in the matter who received subpoenas from the three committees have testified. Even as Mr. Giuliani refused to comply, lawmakers were hearing closed-door testimony from a senior U.S. diplomat, George Kent.
House Democrats are focusing on Mr. Trump’s request to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to look into unsubstantiated allegations about Joe Biden, the former vice-president and a leading contender to become the Democratic nominee to run against Republican Mr. Trump in the November, 2020, U.S. presidential election.
Mr. Kent, who has spent much of his career fighting corruption in Ukraine and elsewhere, is the second career diplomat to testify as part of the probe after being subpoenaed. The White House and State Department had ordered them not to appear.
It was unclear what Mr. Kent, a deputy assistant secretary of state responsible for U.S. policy toward six former Soviet republics, including Ukraine, was telling lawmakers.
According to The New York Times, Mr. Kent raised concerns with colleagues as far back as March about Mr. Giuliani putting pressure on Ukraine to pursue investigations into Mr. Trump’s political rivals.
Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, on Friday accused the Trump administration in testimony of recalling her in May based on false claims.
Fiona Hill, Mr. Trump’s former Russia adviser, told lawmakers on Monday that she and her then-boss, former national security adviser John Bolton, were alarmed this summer by efforts to force Ukraine to investigate Mr. Biden and other rivals, and advised her to notify a National Security Council lawyer, according to a source familiar with her testimony.
Ms. Hill told lawmakers that Mr. Bolton characterized Mr. Giuliani as “a hand grenade who is going to blow everybody up,” according to two sources familiar with her testimony. A Bolton spokeswoman said he would have no comment on the testimony.
Mr. Giuliani had faced a Tuesday deadline to produce the requested documents. Mr. Sale said the documents were protected by both lawyer-client privilege, a legal principle in which certain confidential communications between a lawyer and client are kept secret, and executive privilege, a legal doctrine under which a president can keep certain information from other branches of government.
Mr. Sale also said the request was “overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry.”
Democratic Representative Jackie Speier, a member of the House Intelligence and Oversight committees, told MSNBC that House Democrats would likely move to hold Mr. Giuliani in contempt if he does not co-operate.
Gordon Sondland, a Trump political donor appointed as the U.S. ambassador to the European Union who was involved in the Ukraine discussions, is due to testify later in the week in response to a congressional subpoena.
HUNTER BIDEN DENIES WRONGDOING
Hunter Biden, who had been on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, denied doing anything improper in past work for the company, but acknowledged he had benefited professionally from his father’s political career in an interview with ABC News that aired on Tuesday.
Joe Biden has denied Mr. Trump’s allegations of corruption.
Democrats have accused Mr. Trump of putting pressure on a vulnerable U.S. ally to dig up dirt on Mr. Biden after withholding US$391-million in U.S. security aid intended to help combat Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of Ukraine. Mr. Zelensky agreed to investigate. Mr. Trump eventually allowed the aid.
Mr. Trump has denied wrongdoing and defended his request to Mr. Zelensky during the phone call, which prompted a formal whistle-blower complaint by an individual within the U.S. intelligence community.
If the Democratic-controlled House votes to approve articles of impeachment – formal charges – the Republican-controlled Senate would then hold a trial on whether to remove the President from office.
According to State Department e-mails seen by Reuters, diplomat Mr. Kent told colleagues that Ms. Yovanovitch had become the target of a “classic disinformation operation.” Ms. Yovanovitch on Friday denied Mr. Giuliani’s allegations that she provided a “do not prosecute list” to Ukrainian officials to protect Mr. Biden and others.
“One key sign of it being fake is that most of the names are misspelled in English – we would never spell most that way,” Mr. Kent said in the e-mail to colleagues.
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