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White House blocks former Trump aide from answering House panel’s questions, angering Democrats

The White House on Wednesday blocked President Trump’s former aide Hope Hicks from answering dozens of questions from a House committee, an impasse that hands pro-impeachment Democrats another argument to start proceedings, even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed back.

During a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee, a White House attorney and Justice Department lawyer argued that Hicks had immunity from questions about her West Wing tenure — although Hicks is a private citizen. The standoff — and the White House assertion of an exemption that Democrats said simply does not exist — immediately raised the prospect of the House asking a court to force her to testify.

The latest clash between House Democrats and the Trump administration in their ongoing war over Congress’s right to conduct oversight comes as nearly 70 House Democrats have called for an impeachment inquiry to begin. Indeed, some members of the Judiciary panel emerged from the nearly eight-hour session with Hicks predicting that the episode would only fortify their case that it was time to start proceedings.

View the complete June 19 article by Rachel Bade, Mike DeBonis and Hailey Fuchs on The Washington Post website here.

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