Mick Mulvaney decides not to file impeachment lawsuit but will still defy subpoena

Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has dropped his plans for an impeachment lawsuit, saying he'll defy a congressional subpoena.

Mulvaney after receiving a subpoena for testimony had been trying to join in a lawsuit that essentially meant, as The New York Times reported, he aimed for the courts to "tell him whether to listen to his own boss, who wants him to remain silent, or to comply with a subpoena from the House, which wants his testimony." Mulvaney later decided he would file his own lawsuit.

The acting chief of staff "finds himself caught in that division, trapped between the commands of two of its co-equal branches — with one of those branches threatening him with contempt," his attorneys said in a filing, per The Hill. "He turns to this court for aid."

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But now, Mulvaney has dropped this effort entirely, deciding to listen to his boss.

"After further consideration, Mr. Mulvaney does not intend to pursue litigation regarding the deposition subpoena issued to him by the U.S. House of Representatives," his attorneys said, CNN reports. "Rather, he will rely on the direction of the President, as supported by an opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice, in not appearing for the relevant deposition."

Mulvaney already skipped his scheduled impeachment deposition last week, as two witnesses testified he was involved in tying a White House meeting with Ukraine's president with investigations Trump wanted.