House Democrats plan to expand their impeachment investigation to include the actions of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr.
Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California outlined the plan at a news conference Wednesday, and he warned if President Trump does not cooperate, Democrats would draft an article of impeachment accusing him of obstructing Congress.
“We are not fooling around now,” Schiff said.
Schiff also told reporters he is not stopping at simply investigating Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which produced a whistleblower complaint that launched the House impeachment inquiry.
“What was the State Department’s role? What was the secretary’s role, what was the role of the attorney general?” Schiff said, describing the investigation. “There is a great deal more we need to know to understand the full depth of the president’s misconduct.”Trump mentioned Barr on the call with Zelensky and Pompeo. Barr is digging into the origins of the investigation into the Trump campaign and whether it involved Democrats.Pompeo is resisting demands by House Democrats to send State Department officials to Capitol Hill to be deposed as part of the impeachment inquiry.
Pompeo has accused Democrats of bullying career State Department officials, and Democrats have responded with an accusation that Pompeo is intimidating their witnesses.
The two sides are meeting privately in the Capitol today to discuss the dispute.
Democrats want to know what role Barr is playing in helping Trump investigate actions Democrats took during the 2016 election to investigate his campaign.
Trump wants to find out if Democrats coordinated with Ukraine and other foreign officials to produce dirt on him and his campaign team.
It’s not clear whether Schiff plans to delve into Barr’s investigation beyond the Ukraine phone call. Most of the inquiry will happen behind closed doors.
“We only know some of the facts,” Schiff told reporters.
House Democrats Wednesday announced plans to subpoena the White House for documents related to the call with Zelensky.
Schiff said if the White House does not cooperate, not only would it constitute obstruction, but it would also signal to Democrats that the White House is guilty of wrongdoing.
"We are not fooling around now," Schiff said. "They will be strengthening the case on obstruction if they behave that way."
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/we-are-not-fooling-around-schiff-outlines-plan-to-expand-impeachment-probe
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