House Democrats filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to enforce a subpoena against former White House counsel Don McGahn after the White House repeatedly blocked him from testifying.
McGahn was a key witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, spending over 30 hours with the special counsel’s investigators.
The White House ordered McGahn in May not to comply with the House Judiciary Committee’s subpoena. He has not appeared before the committee, a decision intended to “respect the President’s instruction,” his lawyer said.
In a statement Wednesday following the filing of the complaint, he reiterated this decision.
“People should not forget that Don McGahn is a lawyer and has an ethical obligation to protect client confidences,” William Burck, McGahn’s lawyer, said in a statement, according to Katherine Faulders, a reporter for ABC News. “When faced with competing demands from co-equal branches of government, Don will follow his former client’s instruction, absent a contrary decision from the federal judiciary.”
For House Democrats, his testimony could be a key factor in determining whether to proceed with impeachment proceedings against the president.
According to McGahn’s testimony in the Mueller report, Trump asked McGahn to fire Mueller during the investigation, an incident the report outlined as one of 10 potential instances of obstruction of justice. McGahn threatened to quit rather than carry out the order, Mueller reported.
In June, Trump denied ever asking him to do so, telling ABC News, “I don’t care what he says, it doesn’t matter.”
Read the full complaint below:
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.