House Democrats Are Coming For Hope Hicks and a Former Top White House Lawyer

The House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to former White House aides Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson for documents and testimony Tuesday, escalating a standoff with President Donald Trump over congressional investigatory powers.

The panel set a June 4 deadline for Hicks and Donaldson to furnish relevant documents and asked both to appear before the committee for testimony on separate dates later that month.

“The Judiciary Committee’s investigation into obstruction of justice, public corruption and abuse of power by President Trump and his administration will continue,” U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who chairs the committee, said in a statement. “I have issued these subpoenas today to two critical witnesses who have worked closely with the president. We are seeking the information in order to conduct proper oversight, consider potential legislation and perform our constitutional duties.”

Hicks is a longtime Trump confidant who served in several senior posts in the White House communications operation. She left the administration as White House communications director in March 2018.

Donaldson was deputy White House counsel until December 2018. Her detailed notes on White House operations after special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment formed an important basis for several sections of the Mueller report.