House Democrats have requested a deposition with White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, according to a press release on Tuesday.
The request is the latest in the Democrats’ proceedings into President Trump’s conduct in regards to a controversial phone call with Ukrainian officials and whether or not he should be impeached as a result of it. Trump appeared to withhold aid to Ukraine until Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The deposition, which will be conducted by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Oversight and Reform, is scheduled to take place on Friday morning.
Should Mulvaney disregard the request, his failure to appear “shall constitute further evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against you and the President.”
“Based on evidence gathered in the impeachment inquiry and public reporting, we believe that you possess substantial first-hand knowledge and information relevant to the House’s impeachment inquiry,” the letter addreessed to Mulvaney reads.
“Specifically, the investigation has revealed that you may have been directly involved in an effort orchestrated by President Trump, his personal agent, Rudolph Giuliani, and others to withhold a coveted White House meeting and nearly $400 million in security assistance in order to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to pursue investigations that would benefit President Trump’s personal political interests.”
BREAKING: Impeachment investigators have asked to depose Trump chief of staff Mick MULVANEY on Friday. pic.twitter.com/TgDZ813vUM
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 5, 2019
White House national security official Lt. Col. Alexander S. Vindman became the first White House official to comply with the impeachment inquiry when he testified in front of the investigators last week.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
