subpoenas
Trump tells 2 former aides not to testify at House hearing on possible obstruction of justice
President Trump has directed two of his former aides to ignore subpoenas and skip a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday.
Democrats on the committee are seeking information on an incident described in former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, when Trump allegedly attempted to coerce then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions into redirecting the Russia investigation away from Trump's presidential campaign, Reuters reports.
The committee sent subpoenas to former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn and former White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter, but in a letter sent to House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), White House Counsel Pat Cipollone said they will not appear, as the Department of Justice has decided they "are absolutely immune from compelled congressional testimony with respect to matters related to their service as senior advisers to the president."
Nadler called Trump's order a "shocking and dangerous assertion of executive privilege and absolute immunity." Another former Trump aide, Corey Lewandowski, also received a subpoena to appear Tuesday, and Cipollone said he can testify, just not about any conversations he had with Trump after his election or with any of Trump's senior advisers.