Congress

Don’t ask me: Ex-White House Counsel Don McGahn asked a judge Tuesday to dismiss the House Judiciary Committee’s lawsuit to compel his testimony related to the Mueller investigation. He argues, in part, that Congress should enforce subpoenas against the executive branch not through the courts but with other tools — “chiefly legislation and appropriation.” Let’s talk: President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he wants to “interview” the whistleblower who prompted House Democrats to launch a formal impeachment inquiry, but federal laws offer the intelligence community official protection and polls show the president’s attempts to discredit that person is failing. Significant concerns: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told House committee chairs Tuesday that requests to depose five current and former State Department officials in the Ukraine probe raised “significant legal and procedural concerns” and are “an attempt to intimidate, bully, and treat improperly” those officials. I’m concerned with aspects of the Committee’s request that can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully, & treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State, including several career FSOs. pic.twitter.com/QRtMaXlhQM

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 1, 2019 var rcrdTwitter = 1; Out of business: In what appears to be an attempt to direct attention to the business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden ’s family, Sen. John Kennedy said Tuesday he would be introducing a bill designed to block immediate family members of lawmakers, Cabinet officials, the president and vice president from doing significant business in Ukraine. “The Ukraine government is historically corrupt, which is one way Russia exerts influence there,” the Louisiana Republican said in a statement. “It is hard to know who to believe or trust, though I hope President Zelensky will chart a new, more ethical course. Senior members of our government should not be a part of, or seen to be a part of, this conduct. That hurts America, and it hurts the good people of Ukraine with whom the American people stand.” [jwp-video n="1"]