Washington:The US House Intelligence Committee has subpoenaed President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, asking him to cooperate with the ongoing impeachment inquiry against Trump and provide documents related to his dealings with Ukraine.
The subpoena, issued on Monday in consultation with the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Oversight and Reform, requested Giuliani to submit by October 15 all of the “text messages, phone records, and other communications” with the Ukrainian authorities that the panels said indicated he and other Trump administration officials might have been involved in a “scheme” to influence the 2020 presidential election, reports Xinhua news agency.
In addition, the Committees also scheduled depositions with three of Giuliani’s business associates.
The depositions, according to a separate letter sent to Giuliani, were set between October 10 and 14.
A whistleblower complaint revealing Trump’s interactions with Ukraine alleged that Giuliani, who once served as the Mayor of New York, was a central figure in the controversy, acting as a conduit between the President and Ukrainian officials and relaying messages back and forth.
The Committees told Giuliani in a letter containing the subpoena that the House 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”.
Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to cooperate with Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr to investigate a Ukrainian gas company that might be related to former Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, according to a transcript of the call released last week by the White House.
There, however, has been no evidence so far of any wrongdoing by either Biden or his son.
Giuliani told ABC News on Sunday that he would not cooperate with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, who he said “should be removed”.
Giuliani added that he would testify before Congress if Trump wanted him to do that.
Trump on Monday continued to defend himself against the accusations. “We’re trying to find out about a whistleblower. We have a whistleblower that reports things that were incorrect,” he said at the White House.
The three House Committees on September 28 subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for documents due October 4.