"When asked about the Ukraine call, Mike Pompeo said he knew nothing about it," Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-CA) said of the Secretary of State. "Now we know that he was on the call."
Democrats warned the Secretary not to try to use legal efforts to block any testimony.
"Any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from talking with Congress — including State Department employees — is illegal and will constitute evidence of obstruction of the impeachment inquiry," said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the head of the House Intelligence Committee.
The urgent request from State inspector general to brief staff tomorrow from several House and Senate committees came roughly an hour after Mike Pompeo pushed back against House Dems’ subpoena. The email was cryptic, per sources, but has to do with Ukraine https://t.co/95xuf4a5tW
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) October 1, 2019
Any effort by Sec. Pompeo to intimidate or prevent witnesses from testifying will add to evidence that the Trump Admin is obstructing Congress.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) October 1, 2019
Given Pompeo's own potential role in the affair, it will also create the inference that he is trying to cover up illicit activity. https://t.co/rtniky524i
The briefings came as Secretary of State Pompeo accused Democrats of trying to bully and intimidate current and former State Department officials by pressing for testimony about the President and Ukraine.
But Pompeo's efforts to delay any testimony did not seem to work, as a former U.S. envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker - who was forced out of his post just in recent weeks - said he would answer questions behind closed doors on Thursday, while the former U.S. Ambassador set her date for next week.
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