- The Washington Times - Monday, September 30, 2019

The chairmen of three House committees on Monday subpoenaed President Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, demanding documents related to Ukraine.

“A growing public record indicates that the president, his agent Rudy Giuliani and others appear to have pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically-motivated investigations,” the chairmen wrote.

The chairmen say Mr. Giuliani urged Ukraine to prosecute citizens who provided evidence against Mr. Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and to investigate 2020 Democratic frontrunner Joseph R. Biden. They have asked Mr. Giuliani to turn over all phone records and text messages by October 15.

The subpoena, issued by the House’s foreign affairs, intelligence and oversight committees, comes just days after the same committees issued a similar subpoena to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Both subpoenas are signs House Democrats are rapidly advancing their impeachment inquiry.

In addition to the subpoena, the chairmen informed Mr. Giuliani that it has scheduled depositions for three of his business associates who they claim have “documents relevant” to the Ukraine matter.

The individuals are Lev Parnas, Igor Fruman and Semyon “Sam” Kislin. Depositions are scheduled from Oct. 10-14, according to the letter.

It is not clear if Mr. Giuliani would comply with the subpoena. In an interview Friday with CNN, Mr. Giuliani said he would not testify without consulting with Mr. Trump, his client.

“Ultimately, if I were to say ’yes’ and he were to say, ’no,’ I can’t testify,” he told the news network adding that he had not talked to the president about testifying.

In the same interview, he said would consider challenging any subpoena on the grounds “they are not a legitimate committee”

Mr. Giuliani has become a key figure in the political firestorm surrounding the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The phone call, in which Mr. Trump suggests Ukraine investigate 2020 Democratic presidential front-runner Joseph R. Biden and his son Hunter, led to the House launching an impeachment inquiry.

According to a White House-released transcript of the call, Mr. Trump asked his Ukrainian counterpart to work with Mr. Giuliani and Attorney General William P. Barr to probe the Bidens.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, California Democrat, last week identified both Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Barr as among those he’d like to talk with. Mr. Schiff is one of the three committee chairmen, along with Reps. Elliot Engel of New York and Elijah Cummings of Maryland, all Democrats.

• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.

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