Hicks refused to answer any questions about events and conversations that occurred since Trump took office.
White House communications director Hope Hicks refused to answer questions about the Trump administration that House investigators posed Tuesday as part of their probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
But under pressure from lawmakers, she began to offer some details about the transition period Tuesday afternoon, according to House Intelligence Committee members of both parties, who said Hicks and her attorneys agreed to address topics broached with the Senate Intelligence Committee in an earlier private interview.
Hicks, who has already spoken with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team as part of its probe, has become a central figure in a dispute between lawmakers and the White House about when and where witnesses can legitimately resist answering questions in a congressional probe.
Democrats and Republicans emerging from the House Intelligence Committee’s interview with Hicks on Tuesday noted that, at first, she categorically resisted answering any questions about events and conversations that had occurred since U.S. President Donald Trump won the election, even though Trump has not formally invoked executive privilege with the panel.
“No one’s asserting privilege; they’re following the orders of the White House not to answer certain questions,” said Rep. Mike Quigley, a committee member, after the interview had been going for about four hours.
“There’s no hope to get all our answers,” he added, noting the pun and adding: “tip your servers.”
Democrats on the panel tried to insist during the interview that Hicks be served with a subpoena, as was done with former White House strategist Stephen Bannon last month when he refused to answer similar questions.
“There’s apparently one rule for Steve Bannon and another rule for everyone else,” top panel Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff complained following the interview.
Both Democrats and Republicans said that Hicks changed her approach later in the interview, after her attorneys spoke by phone with the White House to clarify which questions pertaining to the period between Election Day and Trump’s inauguration she would answer. Hicks began speaking to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday morning, and her interview continued for nine hours.
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to comment Tuesday on whether the White House had instructed Hicks to co-operate, noting she was “not going to comment on leaks.”
“We are co-operating because, as the president has said repeatedly, there is no collusion,” Sanders said. “We’re going to continue to co-operate, and hopefully they will wrap this up soon.”
In the end, members of both parties said, Hicks answered all of their questions from the campaign period and “most” of their questions about the transition. But she answered none of their questions pertaining to the period since Trump took office, which meant that lawmakers were unable to secure her testimony regarding a key event in which she played a role: the drafting of a misleading statement to explain an unorthodox meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan between top Trump campaign members and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 race.
Continue Reading: Hope Hicks refuses to answer U.S. House investigators’ questions about Trump administration
White House communications director Hope Hicks refused to answer questions about the Trump administration that House investigators posed Tuesday as part of their probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
But under pressure from lawmakers, she began to offer some details about the transition period Tuesday afternoon, according to House Intelligence Committee members of both parties, who said Hicks and her attorneys agreed to address topics broached with the Senate Intelligence Committee in an earlier private interview.
Hicks, who has already spoken with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s team as part of its probe, has become a central figure in a dispute between lawmakers and the White House about when and where witnesses can legitimately resist answering questions in a congressional probe.
Democrats and Republicans emerging from the House Intelligence Committee’s interview with Hicks on Tuesday noted that, at first, she categorically resisted answering any questions about events and conversations that had occurred since U.S. President Donald Trump won the election, even though Trump has not formally invoked executive privilege with the panel.
“No one’s asserting privilege; they’re following the orders of the White House not to answer certain questions,” said Rep. Mike Quigley, a committee member, after the interview had been going for about four hours.
“There’s no hope to get all our answers,” he added, noting the pun and adding: “tip your servers.”
Democrats on the panel tried to insist during the interview that Hicks be served with a subpoena, as was done with former White House strategist Stephen Bannon last month when he refused to answer similar questions.
“There’s apparently one rule for Steve Bannon and another rule for everyone else,” top panel Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff complained following the interview.
Both Democrats and Republicans said that Hicks changed her approach later in the interview, after her attorneys spoke by phone with the White House to clarify which questions pertaining to the period between Election Day and Trump’s inauguration she would answer. Hicks began speaking to the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday morning, and her interview continued for nine hours.
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to comment Tuesday on whether the White House had instructed Hicks to co-operate, noting she was “not going to comment on leaks.”
“We are co-operating because, as the president has said repeatedly, there is no collusion,” Sanders said. “We’re going to continue to co-operate, and hopefully they will wrap this up soon.”
In the end, members of both parties said, Hicks answered all of their questions from the campaign period and “most” of their questions about the transition. But she answered none of their questions pertaining to the period since Trump took office, which meant that lawmakers were unable to secure her testimony regarding a key event in which she played a role: the drafting of a misleading statement to explain an unorthodox meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan between top Trump campaign members and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 race.
Continue Reading: Hope Hicks refuses to answer U.S. House investigators’ questions about Trump administration
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