The White House blocked another 2 former aides from testifying before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday as part of its probe into possible obstruction of justice by President Trump. But the New York Times reports his former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski will appear before Congress.
Why it matters: The House Judiciary Committee is trying to step up investigations in order to determine whether to recommend Trump’s impeachment for obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
NEW: President Trump has directed former top aides Rob Porter and Rick Dearborn not to appear to testify before Congress tomorrow. Here’s the letter from WH Counsel Pat Cipollone to Chairman Nadler —> pic.twitter.com/HnCQiimHo9
— Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) September 16, 2019
What they're saying: White House counsel Pat Cipollone said in a letter to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler that Lewandowski would be free to discuss his work on the Trump campaign and matters that have already been made public by Mueller, but not any other additional communications he may have had with Trump, per the Times.
- Cipollone's letter on former Staff Secretary Rob Porter and former Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn said that as former senior White House aides, they were "absolutely immune" from congressional testimony, he said in another letter.
- Porter's lawyer to Nadler said in a letter obtained by the Washington Post confirming that he would not testify, "The committee’s dispute is with the White House, not with Mr. Porter."
Between the lines: It's a blow to the judiciary committee's investigations that Porter is not testifying as he was a key witness for the obstruction portion of former special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.
Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.
