The top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee said Tuesday he plans to have a subpoena prepared out of an “abundance of caution” in case acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker tries to “dodge uncomfortable questions.”
Whitaker is scheduled to testify to the committee Friday.
“For the first two years of the Trump Administration, Congress allowed government witnesses to dodge uncomfortable questions. That era is over,” Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said in a statement.
“To be clear, I hope never to use this subpoena,” he said, adding that Whitaker should be prepared to answer questions about his contact with the White House and his refusal to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Nadler said the subpoena will be unnecessary if Whitaker appears before the panel “on time and ready to answer those questions.”
The panel has scheduled a meeting Thursday to draft the subpoena.
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., decried Nadler’s move as “purely political.” Meadows said Whitaker has given no indication that he will not appear before the committee on Friday as scheduled or answer their questions.
“This is purely political and a far cry from the careful use of subpoena authority Dems promised,” tweeted Meadows, head of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
[Read more: AG nominee William Barr: ‘Vitally important’ that Robert Mueller finish his investigation]
There is zero indication Acting AG Whitaker will decline to appear before the Judiciary Committee or fully answer their questions… yet the Democrats are readying a subpoena anyway. This is purely political and a far cry from the careful use of subpoena authority Dems promised. https://t.co/U2y2wuYVn0
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) February 5, 2019
Friday will be Whitaker’s first time testifying to Congress in his role as acting attorney general. President Trump’s nominee, William Barr, is expected to be confirmed to the role later this month.
