Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)WASHINGTON (AP) – A former White House lawyer defied a congressional subpoena Tuesday, setting the Trump administration on course for another collision with the Democratic-led House over its pursuit of documents related to the Russia investigation.
Don McGahn’s refusal to provide the documents to the House Judiciary Committee came at the instruction of the White House, which suggested the documents could be subject to executive privilege. Such a claim can shield some presidential material from disclosure.
President Donald Trump has defied requests from House Democrats since the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report last month. Republicans have largely united behind the president, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday declaring “case closed” on Mueller’s Russia probe and potential obstruction by Trump. McConnell said Democrats are “grieving” the result.
Mueller said he could not establish a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia, but he did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump obstructed justice. Mueller didn’t charge Trump but wrote that he couldn’t exonerate him, either.
Democrats say the case is anything but closed and are conducting their own review of Mueller’s investigation of Russian election interference . The Judiciary panel wants to speak to McGahn and review certain documents, in part because he was a vital witness for Mueller, recounting the president’s outrage over the investigation and his efforts to curtail it.