The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether President Trump obstructed justice.
The House committee wants Porter to testify in its own investigation into whether Trump obstructed justice as it considers whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the president.
Porter, whose notes about his time in the White House were cited dozens of times in Mueller’s report, resigned in February 2018 amid domestic abuse allegations from his two ex-wives.
Footnotes in Mueller’s report indicate Porter, 41, met with Mueller’s team over two days. Porter had regular access to the president through his role as staff secretary and vetted documents signed by the president. He told investigators he was present during a meeting in the Oval Office in December 2017 when Trump allegedly suggested that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions “unrecuse” himself from the Mueller inquiry.
The White House is likely to assert Porter has immunity from testifying before Congress, as it has done with other aides who have been subpoenaed by the committee.
The committee subpoenaed former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former White House aide Rick Dearborn earlier this month.
Former White House communications director Hope Hicks appeared before the committee in June but declined to answer many of the panel’s questions.
Democrats have filed a lawsuit to compel former White House counsel Don McGahn to testify after he failed to comply with the committee’s subpoena.
