House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) filed a civil lawsuit Wednesday to enforce a subpoena for testimony from Don McGahn, the former White House counsel who at the Trump administration’s direction defied lawmakers’ request to appear before the Judiciary panel.
The announcement comes two weeks after former special counsel Robert Mueller, who interviewed McGahn extensively as part of his probe into possible obstruction of justice by President Trump, testified for nearly seven hours on Capitol Hill about his 22-month long Russia investigation.
Lawyers for Judiciary Committee Democrats described McGahn as both “critical” and the “most important fact witness” during a call with reporters Wednesday before the lawsuit was filed, noting that he witnessed key obstruction episodes examined by Mueller.