House Democrats on Friday issued a subpoena to the White House for documents related to Ukraine, ratcheting up the Democratic impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The subpoena came after the three committees leading the impeachment inquiry separately sent a letter Friday seeking documents from Vice President Mike Pence as part of their investigation into Trump and his conversation with the President of Ukraine.
The subpoena from House Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings to the White House includes a request for a host of documents and communications tied to the President’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the holding up of foreign aid to Ukraine and efforts by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and his associates to push the Ukrainians to investigate Vice President Joe Biden and Burisma, the company that hired Hunter Biden’s son Hunter Biden to be on its board, according to a memo Cummings sent on the subpoena earlier this week.
“We deeply regret that President Trump has put us — and the nation — in this position, but his actions have left us with no choice but to issue this subpoena,” Cummings of Maryland, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff of California and House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel of New York wrote in a letter to the White House on Friday.
The subpoena escalates the Democratic impeachment investigation, which stems from the whistleblower complaint alleging Trump sought help from Ukraine’s government to dig up dirt on his political rival and the White House sought to cover it up. The three panels leading the probe have already issued subpoenas to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Giuliani, in addition to Friday’s White House subpoena. The White House downplayed the subpoena.