President Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, wouldn’t say Monday if he will comply with House Democrats’ subpoena related to the administration’s interactions with Ukraine, which are now the subject of an impeachment inquiry.
“I have received a subpoena signed only by Democrat Chairs who have prejudged this case,” Giuliani said in a statement on Twitter.
Giuliani is facing mounting scrutiny over accusations that he tried to influence Ukrainian officials to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden or Biden’s son as part of a broad effort to aid Trump’s 2020 re-election efforts.
{mosads}The House Intelligence Committee, chaired by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), on Monday issued a subpoena for the former New York City mayor, requesting that he produce communications focused on Biden’s son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian energy company. The subpoena also called on Giuliani to hand over communications, including messages and phone records, dealing with his efforts to pressure Ukrainian officials to investigate unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against the Bidens.
In addition, it asked Giuliani to turn over communications regarding U.S. foreign assistance to Ukraine, as well as any information on efforts to withhold or deny it.
The subpoena, which was signed by Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) demanded Giuliani respond by Oct. 15.
“Your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena, including at the direction or behest of the president or the White House, shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against you and the president,” the chairmen warned in a letter to Giuliani.
A whistleblower complaint, which was released publicly last week, accused Trump of working with Giuliani to use “the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign government in the 2020 U.S. election.” The complaint alleged that Trump during a July 25 phone call repeatedly pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Biden family.
The White House released a memorandum last week confirming that Trump asked Zelensky to work with Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr on efforts related to the matter.
The call occurred around the same time Trump delayed hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to Ukraine, raising speculation from Democrats as to whether the president used the aid as leverage in the talks.
Giuliani and Trump have acknowledged their efforts to persuade Ukrainian officials into investigating the Biden family, with Trump repeatedly denying allegations of wrongdoing, describing his talks with Zelensky as “perfect.”
The subpoena comes as part of the House’s formal impeachment inquiry of the president, which officially began last week. The House Foreign Affairs Committee also subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as part of the inquiry on Friday.