As House Democrats prepare for public impeachment hearings next week, White House officials say there is an overlooked ray of good news after Democrats dropped a subpoena rather than risk an unfavorable ruling and a loss of time.
Charles Kupperman, deputy to former national security adviser John Bolton, on Wednesday challenged a subpoena to appear privately before the House Intelligence Committee. Democrats dropped the request rather than wait for a Dec. 10 court hearing.
A day later, Bolton did not appear for a scheduled voluntary deposition. He also is represented by Charles Cooper, Kupperman’s attorney.
“Now they won’t touch Bolton because Kupperman and Bolton have the same lawyer, who is playing hardball,” a White House official told the Washington Examiner.
The White House official said the standoff was a “huge loss” for Democrats, who backed down out of fear they would “lose in a very public way.”
“It’s all about who they’ve got to represent them,” said a different senior administration official.
In most cases, current and former officials summoned to appear before the House Intelligence Committee have retained private attorneys. Administration attorneys have not been permitted to attend the depositions.
The White House official expressed optimism that Kupperman’s subpoena standoff will embolden officials who have not yet testified. “The real targets who have defied have been winning,” the official said.
Kupperman’s case was handled by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, an independent-minded Republican appointee known for breaking with judicial orthodoxy. He was the only district judge, for example, to find that the National Security Agency’s dragnet collection of domestic call records likely violated the Constitution.
But victory in the Kupperman standoff may be too little, too late. Last week, former National Security Council Senior Director for Russia and Europe Tim Morrison corroborated key allegations from top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine William Taylor that Trump linked the delivery of $400 million in foreign aid to having Ukraine investigate Democrats.
Morrison testified to the surprise of some Republican Trump allies, who expressed concern that White House counsel Pat Cipollone had not sought to invoke executive privilege. The top lawyer has clashed with allies of White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, who has pushed for a more combative approach against Democrats.
“Cipollone had nothing to do with those who have held strong and played hardball,” the White House official told the Washington Examiner. “The only thing Cipollone steps in is his own waste.”
The White House is adding two officials to join to help with communications: former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and former Treasury Department spokesman Tony Sayegh. A second White House official said the two are expected to report to White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Democrats could impeach Trump in the House as early as December. A Senate trial is expected early next year.
Former White House counsel Don McGahn is also challenging a House demand to testify. His case is being heard by a different federal judge.
“This thing is completely fast-tracked, and there is risk [Democrats] are going to lose on the merits in the courts,” said the senior administration official. “It would really harm Congress and its tools and undermine their whole process and underscore the administration’s point this is devoid of due process.”
The House belatedly passed legislation last week establishing a procedure for the impeachment process to proceed but granted no role to the White House in most cases, with the exception of a to-be-determined role in the House Judiciary Committee. The White House and Trump allies say it’s a continuation of a “sham” process that began without a floor vote or established Republican rights.
Trump has pushed for testimony from the whistleblower who triggered the impeachment proceedings with a complaint about a July 25 phone call with Ukraine’s president. Republicans are unable to summon witnesses without Democrats agreeing.
Public hearings next week will feature witnesses who already have appeared behind closed doors, including Taylor and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who was dismissed in May.
