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Impeachment

Democrats subpoena Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, for Ukraine documents

WASHINGTON – House Democrats on Monday subpoenaed Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, for a raft of documents related to his dealings with Ukrainian officials, the latest step in a fast-moving impeachment inquiry. 

In a letter to Giuliani, three House committee chairmen said a "growing public record" indicates that Trump, Giuliani and others appear to have "pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically-motivated investigations.”

Giuliani has publicly acknowledged his efforts to press Ukrainian government officials to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. He said he contacted Ukrainian officials at the direction of the State Department and that he has briefed U.S. diplomats on his conversations.

“In addition to this stark admission, you stated more recently that you are in possession of evidence – in the form of text messages, phone records, and other communications – indicating that you were not acting alone and that other Trump Administration officials may have been involved in this scheme,” the House committee chairmen wrote on Monday. 

Giuliani and Trump have also pressed Ukrainian officials to prosecute individuals who helped expose Paul Manafort's lucrative lobbying work on behalf of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The revelations about that work led to Manafort's resignation as Trump's 2016 campaign manager, and he is now serving prison time related to those dealings. 

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In the Manafort case, Giuliani has accused Ukrainian officials of trying to undermine Trump’s 2016 campaign by revealing payments to Manafort from Yanukovych, a pro-Russia politician.

On Monday evening, Giuliani responded the subpoena on Twitter. 

"I have received a subpoena signed only by Democrat Chairs who have prejudged this case," he wrote. It raises significant issues concerning legitimacy and constitutional and legal issues including ... attorney client and other privileges. It will be given appropriate consideration."

He has said he did nothing wrong. 

The committee chairmen said any failure to comply, including at the direction of Trump or the White House, would constitute "evidence of obstruction" of the impeachment inquiry.

In this Nov. 20, 2016 photo, then-President-elect Donald Trump, right, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani pose for photographs as Giuliani arrives at the Trump National Golf Club Bedminster clubhouse in Bedminster, N.J.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., opened an impeachment inquiry last week after allegations emerged that Trump used the power of his office to press a foreign government for damaging information about a top political rival.

An explosive whistleblower complaint, released publicly last week, accused Trump of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Biden during a July 25 phone call between the two leaders. 

The whistleblower, who has not been identified publicly, also detailed efforts by senior White House officials to "lock down" access to records of the July 25 call. 

"This set of actions underscored to me that White House officials understood the gravity of what had transpired in the call," the whistleblower said in the complaint.

Giuliani has defended his efforts as part of a legitimate effort to expose wrongdoing by Biden and his son, Hunter, who had business dealings in Ukraine. But he has not provided any evidence of illegal actions by either Biden. Ukraine's former prosecutor general has said he is not aware “any possible violation of Ukrainian law by (Joe) Biden and by (Hunter Biden).”

In Monday's letter to Giuliani, the House intelligence, foreign affairs, and oversight committees called on Trump's attorney to produce "all documents and communications" from Jan. 20, 2017, through the present related to his contacts with Ukrainian officials. 

Among other items, the House chairmen are seeking:

  • Any communications or documents related to Trump's decision, earlier this summer, to withhold nearly $400 million U.S. military assistance to Ukraine. Trump eventually released that money amid bipartisan pressure from Congress. 
  • Documents that would shed light on Trump's decision to send Energy Secretary Rick Perry, instead of Vice President Mike Pence, to Zelensky's inauguration in May.  
  • Communications Giuliani or his associates had with Attorney General William Barr or others at the Department of Justice about the Ukraine matter. Trump asked Zelensky in the July 25 call to work with Barr on a possible Biden probe. 

The intelligence, foreign affairs, and oversight chairmen also said Monday they would seek to depose three more witnesses in their inquiry: Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman, and Semyon “Sam” Kislin. All three are associates of Giuliani reportedly involved in helping him make connections in Ukrainian political circles.

The impeachment inquiry is focused on probing the "extent to which President Trump may have jeopardized national security" by pressing Ukraine to investigate Biden and by withholding military assistance to help Ukraine counter Russian aggression, the letter says.

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