A top White House national security aide will not testify to Congress in the House Democrats’ impeachment investigation of President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine.
Robert Blair, a national security staffer and ally of acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, declined a Democrat invitation to give testimony in the House “pursuant to direction from the White House, which is based on advice from the Department of Justice,” Blair’s attorney, Whit Ellerman, told Politico. Blair was scheduled to testify on Monday.
Democrats may try to compel Blair to testify with a subpoena, but Ellerman said that his client will still not appear because “direction from the White House and advice from DOJ cover subpoena.”
Blair sat in on the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that served as the basis for the whistleblower complaint that triggered the House impeachment investigation.
Three other administration officials are also scheduled to testify in the House on Monday: White House deputy counsel John Eisenberg, White House senior associate counsel Michael Ellis, and Office of Management and Budget Associate Director Brian McCormack. It is unclear whether each official intends to testify or not.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi brought the impeachment proceedings to a vote on the House floor on Thursday. The vote passed largely along party lines 232-196. One independent, Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, sided with Democrats voting for the impeachment investigation. Two Democratic representatives sided with Republicans voting against it.
