US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has notified US politicians that he will not comply with a subpoena issued in the impeachment inquiry.
A letter sent by attorney Jon Sale says the subpoena is “overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry”.
Sale also echoes a letter from the White House counsel’s office in describing the impeachment inquiry itself as “unconstitutional” and “baseless”.
Democrats set deadline of tomorrow for Giuliani to provide documents.
Text messages and witness testimony have revealed Giuliani’s role in a back-channel effort to get Ukraine to investigate a gas company linked to the family of Democratic rival Joe Biden.
The Democrats also requested information from three of Giuliani’s associates.
Announcing the subpoena last month, House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff and the chairs of two other panels conducting investigations wrote: “Pursuant to the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry, we are hereby transmitting a subpoena that compels you to produce the documents set forth in the accompanying schedule by October 15, 2019.”
“The Committees are investigating the extent to which President Trump jeopardized national security by pressing Ukraine to interfere with our 2020 election,” the chairmen said in a letter to Giuliani.
“Our inquiry includes an investigation of credible allegations that you acted as an agent of the President in a scheme to advance his personal political interests by abusing the power of the Office of the President.”
It was not immediately clear how House Democrats conducting the impeachment inquiry would respond to Mr Giuliani’s refusal to comply.
Includes reporting by Press Association and - © AFP 2019
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