Ex-Trump campaign aide says he might not cooperate in House Dem probe

A former campaign aide to President Trump said he might defy the House Judiciary Committee, which has asked him for testimony. 

An attorney for Michael Caputo, who was one of 81 people the panel asked for documents, told lawmakers that Caputo did not have documents related to their requests and would not guarantee his testimony, in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.). 

{mosads}The letter Caputo’s attorney, Dennis C. Vacco, sent to Nadler said that a Judiciary Committee staffer asked if Caputo would testify before the committee. 

“I did not commit to produce Mr. Caputo, principally because he has already testified under oath twice,” Vacco said in the letter. “Respectfully, there are only so many ways the same questions can be asked of Mr. Caputo.”

“I am reticent to stand alone in defiance of the Judiciary Committee and rack up far more legal bills,” Caputo said in a statement to The Hill. “But I might, if others among the 81 Trump Targets join me.”

He told The Washington Post that he was talking to four others who received requests.

“All four are reluctant to appear because they believe it’s a perjury trap designed to move toward impeachment of the president,” he told the Post. 

The Judiciary Committee is launching an expansive investigation into Trump’s campaign associates and business contacts that, according to Nadler, will focus on three subjects: obstruction of justice, public corruption and abuses of power.

The Judiciary Committee has the power to bring impeachment charges against Trump. 

The Hill has reached out to Nadler for comment. 

Updated at 11:14 p.m.