WASHINGTON – The impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump moves forward Monday even as the full House of Representatives is on a week-long break.
Four White House officials scheduled to appear before the House Oversight, Intelligence and Foreign Affairs committees, are not expected to show up, according to multiple media reports. .
Two of the officials — John Eisenberg, the National Security Council’s lawyer, and his deputy, Michael Ellis — fielded concerns from other officials about U.S. policy with Ukraine and are said to have knowledge of Trump's phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The others include Robert Blair, a senior adviser to Trump's acting chief of staff, and Brian McCormack, an official at the Office of Management and Budget.
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Along with all this, the president is hosting a campaign rally in Lexington, Kentucky.
Follow along for the latest impeachment updates on Monday:
Four officials scheduled to testify
John Eisenberg, the National Security Council’s lawyer, and his deputy, Michael Ellis, are two of the officials that impeachment investigators summoned Monday. Both are expected to avoid testifying, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert at the NSC, testified Oct. 29 that he was concerned about the July 25 phone call when Trump urged Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden while withholding nearly $400 million in military aid. Vindman listened to the call and reported his concerns to Eisenberg.
“I was concerned by the call,” Vindman told the House inquiry. “I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. government’s support of Ukraine.”
Trump has insisted that he was justified in urging Ukraine to investigate corruption.
Vindman said Eisenberg suggested storing the document that summarized the call to a computer used for highly classified material. Ellis was with Eisenberg when he made the suggestion.
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Other White House witnesses scheduled Monday are Robert Blair, a senior adviser to Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Brian McCormack, the associate director for natural resources at the Office of Management and Budget. Blair and McCormack are also not expected to show up for testimony today, according to CNN.
McCormack previously worked as Rick Perry's chief of staff before Perry announced his resignation as Energy Secretary. Perry has also been scrutinized as he was the official who set up the July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president and also led the U.S. delegation to Ukraine for Zelensky's inauguration.
Perry had been invited to testify Wednesday, but the Energy Department released a statement Friday saying, “The Secretary will not partake in a secret star chamber inquisition where agency counsel is forbidden to be present."
Contributing: Associated Press
