Four senior White House officials refused a call to testify before members of the House in the ongoing impeachment inquiry involving President Donald Trump, Politico reports.
National Security Council Legal Adviser John Eisenberg, National Security Council lawyer Michael Ellis, national security aide Robert Blair, and budget official Brian McCormack were all scheduled to testify on Monday. All refused to appear in a victory for the White House, which has otherwise failed to keep administration officials from being deposed.
A spokesperson for the Energy Department told CNN that Energy Secretary Rick Perry will not appear at a scheduled closed-door deposition on Wednesday. An administration official also told CNN that Eisenberg wouldn’t show up because of executive privilege, while the rest will not testify because they were unable to have an administration lawyer with them.
"Blair is caught between the assertions of legal duty by two coequal branches of government, a conflict which he cannot resolve,” his attorney told the network on Saturday.
"This isn't an Agatha Christie novel -- this is a shakedown," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who has participated in the depositions, told CNN. "I think we have established an overwhelming case. But we have got very careful prosecutors on the staff who rightfully want to leave no witness unexamined, and they want every detail to be nailed down as much as possible. That's good."
He added, "But at a certain point we have to say ... there's just been an overwhelming case that high crimes and misdemeanors have likely been committed against our country."
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