WASHINGTON _ House Democrats said Wednesday that they would issue a subpoena to the White House on Friday if the Trump administration does not voluntarily turn over records.
Among the documents being sought are any communications among administration officials involving Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in which he asked the foreign leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. At the time of the call, Trump had paused military aid to the country, which is fending off Russian-backed separatists.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, said Trump's actions were alarming and Democrats would move quickly on the issue.
"We are proceeding deliberately, but at the same time we feel a real sense of urgency," Schiff said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking at the same news conference, said that Democrats are prepared to keep working on healthcare and trade agreements even as they pursue an impeachment inquiry.
"We are clearly at a place where we are legislating to try to meet the needs of the American people in a transformative way," said Pelosi (D-Calif.). "We are investigating. We are litigating."
Trump had threatened that nothing would get done in Congress as Democrats pursue their impeachment inquiry.
"If the president is saying, 'If you question my actions, you can't agree on any subject,' the ball is in his court on that," Pelosi said
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo acknowledged Wednesday that he was listening in on the July 25 call. He's also pushed back on Democrats' efforts to obtain depositions from five current and former State Department officials, saying they had been given "woefully inadequate" time to prepare and claiming the request was not made through normal channels.
Democrats have said Pompeo's resistance could be considered an attempt to unlawfully obstruct their impeachment inquiry.
