Taking a defiant stance in the impeachment inquiry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday declared that House Democrats are trying to “intimidate, bully and treat improperly” five current and former career officials in seeking information in the Ukraine investigation.

Pompeo said in a letter to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as part of the chamber’s impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, that the requested dates for the officials to voluntarily appear for depositions were “not feasible.”

“I am concerned with aspects of your request,” Pompeo wrote to Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., chairman of the panel. “I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals.”

The muscular response from Pompeo came one day after it was disclosed that he was among those listening in on Trump’s July phone call with the Ukraine president that helped trigger the impeachment inquiry. The pushback signals a stiffening in the confrontation between the executive and legislative branches over impeachment, and could both slow the probe and expose Trump to charges that he is obstructing Congress.

House Democrats launched the impeachment inquiry of Trump after a whistleblower’s disclosure of the president’s phone call with new Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which Trump sought help in investigating Democratic rival Joe Biden and Biden’s son Hunter.

In halting any appearances by State officials, and demanding that executive branch lawyers accompany them, Pompeo is underscoring the administration’s expansive view of the White House’s authority and setting the tone for conflicts to come.

When issuing a separate subpoena last week as part of the inquiry, the chairmen of three House committees made it clear that stonewalling their investigation would be considered obstruction of Congress in its investigation.

The panels are seeking documents from the State Department and voluntary testimony from the current and former officials.

“Your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry,” wrote Engel and the other chairmen, Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee, and Elijah Cummings of the Oversight Committee.

The chairmen in their letter were seeking testimony over the next two weeks from officials including the former ambassador to Ukraine, Marie “Masha” Yovanovitch, and former special envoy Kurt Volker.

Volker played a direct role in arranging meetings between Rudy Giuliani, who is Trump’s personal lawyer, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the chairmen said, as part of what is seen as a backchannel to Kyiv.

They 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.

It’s unclear whether Pompeo will comply with the committees’ request for documents by Friday. He had declined to comply with their previous requests for information.

Pompeo, traveling in Italy to meet with the country’s president and prime minister, ignored shouted question about the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday.

Related Stories
‹
Pelosi says Trump’s Ukraine Actions Amount to ‘Bribery’
House Democrats are refining part of their impeachment case against the president to a simple allegation: Bribery. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday brushed aside the Latin phrase “quid pro quo” that Democrats have been using to describe President Donald Trump’s actions toward Ukraine. As the impeachment hearings go public, they’re going for a more […]
AP Source: Second US Official in Kyiv Heard Trump Call
A second U.S. Embassy staffer in Kyiv overheard a cellphone call between President Donald Trump and his ambassador to the European Union discussing a need for Ukrainian officials to pursue “investigations,” The Associated Press has learned. The July 26 call between Trump and Gordon Sondland was first described during testimony Wednesday by William Taylor, the […]
Ukrainian Leader Felt Trump Pressure Before Taking Office
More than two months before the phone call that launched the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, Ukraine’s newly elected leader was already worried about pressure from the U.S. president to investigate his Democratic rival Joe Biden. Volodymyr Zelenskiy gathered a small group of advisers on May 7 in Kyiv for a meeting that was supposed to […]
US Diplomat: Trump Linked Ukraine Aid to Demand for Probe
A top U.S. diplomat testified Tuesday that President Donald Trump was holding back military aid for Ukraine unless the country agreed to investigate Democrats and a company linked to Joe Biden’s family, providing lawmakers with a detailed new account of the quid pro quo central to the impeachment probe. In a lengthy opening statement to House investigators […]
Diplomat Provides House with Detailed Account on Ukraine
Former U.S. Ambassador William Taylor, a diplomat who has sharply questioned President Donald Trump’s policy on Ukraine, has provided lawmakers with a detailed account of his recollection of events at the center of the Democrats’ impeachment probe, they said Tuesday. Lawmakers emerging after the early hours of the private deposition said Taylor had given a lengthy […]
Pompeo Acknowledges He Was on Trump Call at Center of Probe
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo acknowledged on Wednesday that he was on the July phone call between President Donald Trump and the Ukraine president that’s at the center of the House impeachment inquiry. But Pompeo continued to push back against what he said was Democrats’ “bullying and intimidation.” The Trump administration has set a defiant […]
Trump Ordered Aid Frozen; More Democrats Want Impeachment
President Donald Trump ordered his staff to freeze nearly $400 million in aid to Ukraine a few days before a phone call in which he pressured the Eastern European nation’s leader to investigate the family of political rival Joe Biden, a revelation that comes as more Democrats move toward impeachment proceedings. Trump, in remarks to reporters at […]
Giuliani Associate: Trump had Knowledge of Ukraine Pressure
A close associate of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani is claiming Trump was directly involved in the effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden. Lev Parnas says he delivered an ultimatum in May, at Giuliani’s behest, to the incoming president of Ukraine that no senior U.S. officials would attend his […]
Rep. David Price Plans to Support Articles of Impeachment Against Trump
The House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Friday morning, meaning a vote on the articles in the full House of Representatives will soon be held. The decision came after a week of deliberation over whether enough evidence existed to draft and approve the articles. The abuse of power charge […]
Democrats Unveil 2 Articles of Impeachment Against Trump
House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, declaring he “betrayed the nation” with his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. The specific charges aimed at removing the 45th president of the United States: abuse of power and […]
›