Washington - Former White House
Communications Director Hope Hicks, once a close aide to
President Donald Trump, has agreed to turn over documents
related to his 2016 election campaign to congressional
investigators, a top Democratic lawmaker said on Tuesday.
The agreement marks a step forward for House of
Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler in
investigations of Republican Trump and his inner circle, digging
into the campaign, his turbulent presidency and business
interests.
Hicks, Trump's former campaign press secretary, agreed to
supply the documents from the campaign, despite a White House
directive advising her not to provide the committee with
material from her subsequent time at the White House.
She and former White House lawyer Annie Donaldson were
subpoenaed on May 21 by the panel as part of its inquiry into
whether Trump obstructed Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s
investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and
contacts between Trump's campaign and Moscow.
Hicks' attorney Robert Trout said in a letter to Nadler that
Hicks would not hand over documents related to Trump's time in
the White House and his presidential transition period because
administration attorneys believe the papers may be subject to a
claim of executive privilege by Trump.
Trout said Hicks was handing over a computer disc containing
documents from Trump's campaign period that were not previously
given to the committee.
He said his law firm would not provide any documents it had
received from the White House and transition team to prepare
Hicks for her testimony before congressional committees or
Mueller's investigation.
The White House instructed Hicks and Donaldson not to turn
over records related to the administration, saying the material
involves executive branch confidentiality interests and
executive privilege. Hicks resigned from her White House job in
February 2018.
The two former aides "do not have the legal right to
disclose the White House records to third parties," White House
counsel Pat Cipollone said in a letter to Nadler.
A copy of a letter from Attorney General William Barr advising Congress of the principal conclusions reached by special counsel Robert Mueller is photographed in Washington. File picture: Jon Elswick/AP
'GOOD FAITH'
Nadler commended Hicks for providing "some documents"
relating to the campaign.
"I thank her for that show of good faith," Nadler said in a
statement. The Democrat criticized what he called Trump's
"continued obstruction of Congress."
Nadler said: "The president has no lawful basis for
preventing these witnesses from complying with our request."
The committee chairman told reporters that Hicks and
Donaldson, a former aide to ex-White House counsel Don McGahn,
could face contempt proceedings if they do not comply.
"When we ask for documents to be turned over, we expect all
of the documents to be turned over. We're the Congress of the
United States," said Representative Jamie Raskin, a Democrat on
Nadler's committee.
"The president and the White House continue to play games.
It's not a game," Raskin said.
Donaldson did not respond to requests for comment.
The House of Representatives is poised to vote on a contempt
resolution against Attorney General William Barr, who defied a
Judiciary Committee subpoena for the unredacted Mueller report.
A vote has been scheduled for June 11.
On Tuesday, the Justice Department offered to move forward
on negotiations about the Mueller report only if lawmakers cut
short their drive to hold Barr in contempt.
Nadler rejected that request in a letter to Barr later in
the day, urging the attorney general to return to negotiations
without conditions and saying there was "simply no justification
for your refusal."
The committee is seeking any material Hicks has on a June
2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York between campaign
officials including the president's son Donald Trump Jr. and
son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russians offering to help Trump's
candidacy.
The subpoena also seeks documents relating to any payments
made to Trump's convicted former personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
Cohen said Trump directed "hush money" payments he made for two
women's silence before the election about their alleged sexual
relations with Trump.
Representative Doug Collins, top Republican on the House
Judiciary Committee, called for hearings on Russian meddling in
the 2016 campaign and potential foreign threats to the 2020
race, a move Nadler said he welcomed.
The committee has scheduled separate hearings with Hicks and
Donaldson for later this month. It is also seeking documents
from the two former aides on dozens of topics ranging from an
FBI investigation into former national security adviser Michael
Flynn to the termination of James Comey as FBI director and the
appointment of Mueller.