With news reports of the Trump administration’s refusal to cooperate with Congressional probes piling up, I set out to find the true breadth of the stonewalling, digging through media reports and congressional press releases going back to the beginning of 2019, when the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives. I chose to focus on the House instead of the Senate because the Democrats have conducted significantly more oversight of this administration – or, at least, they have tried to.
As you will see, the Trump administration has blocked or refused to comply with 82 House Committee requests for testimony and/or documents.
This list is based on public information. In many instances, I could not find an outcome to congressional demands; in such a case, I did not include the demand on this list. It is therefore likely that the actual number of obstructed investigations is much higher than reported here.
My intention is to keep the list updated so we have a true picture of how far the Trump White House is willing to go to impede various investigations. To provide context, a future update will include the number of House committee requests and subpoenas that the administration complied with. Without data on compliance, the picture is only half complete.
Analysis
Since the Democrats took control of the House of Representatives on January 3, 2019, the Trump administration has stonewalled at least 82 committee demands, blocking 23 of them and refusing to comply with 59 (Chart 1). A blocked request or subpoena refers to when a top official, sometimes President Trump himself, directed a subordinate not to comply with what the committee asks for. A refused request or subpoena refers to a top official deciding not to comply on their own. The difference is subtle, but leaders of an agency generally have more choice when faced with congressional demands than an underling has.
The Trump administration has stonewalled 42 congressional subpoenas and 40 congressional requests (Chart 2). For our purposes, a congressional request is defined as an official demand for an individual to voluntarily provide information to a committee, almost always conveyed through a letter. When an official or agency does not fulfill the parameters of a request by the set deadline, the committee has the option of issuing a subpoena. House Rule XI, clause 2(m)(1) and (3), describes subpoena power as: “the authority granted to committees by the rules of their respective houses to issue legal orders requiring individuals to appear and testify, or to produce documents pertinent to the committee’s functions, or both.” If an individual fails to comply with a subpoena, the committee can pursue three remedies, including contempt charges. I have noted within each entry on the list when such an action was taken.
Breaking down the entities that did not comply with requests and subpoenas shows that the White House is responsible for 24 instances of noncompliance (Chart 3). It is important to note that Chart 3 also reflects the entities that were targeted by Congressional committees. In other words, an individual cannot refuse a demand they were not issued in the first place. Without the addition of the number of fulfilled demands, the picture is not complete. Working with the data in its current form, however, can at least give us a partial picture of who is responsible for the most stonewalling. The White House leads the count, followed by personal associations of Donald Trump and the Justice Department. Attorney General William Barr refused to comply with five demands addressed directly to him, three of which were subpoenas.
Breaking down congressional demands by topic reveals that the majority of the stonewalled requests relate to the Mueller probe, followed by the impeachment inquiry, then financial oversight of Trump and his administration, immigration, and national security (Chart 4). Again, like the previous chart, Chart 4 reflects the topics that the House has decided to pursue; a complete picture requires the addition of the number of demands that were met. From the partial picture that Chart 4 presents, we can see that the Trump administration stonewalled many demands for information on issues covered by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. These issues include Trump’s obstruction of justice, relationships with Russian entities, and the 2016 election interference.
Note: Though not included in the total count, the final section of this list presents attempted stonewalling. If included in the total count, the six attempts at stonewalling would put the impeachment inquiry at the same amount of stonewalling as the Mueller probe.
Finally, we can look at the top individual stonewallers in the administration (Image 1). This is complicated by the fact that the person receiving the demand from Congress may not be the individual who makes the determination not to comply. For instance, Chief White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is the main legal representative of the office of the President. As such, he is often the recipient of congressional demands but is typically carrying out the President’s agenda. Keeping these behind-the-scenes interactions in mind, Mick Mulvaney and Pat Cipollone are often the public faces of Donald Trump’s stonewalling. Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, as leaders of their own agencies, are more responsible for the stonewalling under their watch.
Key: How to read the list
The stonewalling list is divided into three sections. The first contains congressional requests and subpoenas that officials were ordered not to comply with. The second, longer, section is made up of officials who refused on their own (as far as we can tell from public information). The final section, not included in the total stonewalling count, contains incidents when the administration attempted and failed to stonewall congressional investigations. Each section is organized chronologically, sorted from the most recent to the oldest incident this year.
Format of each entry:
Name. Position. Type of demand. Deadline for demand to be fulfilled. Details.
Special symbols:
** indicates that the official’s cooperation was severely limited
† indicates that the subpoena was one of 81 issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. Due to a lack of public information, only 9 of the subjects can be confirmed noncompliant. There is no information on the status of over 50 of the subpoenas. Therefore, there are likely more noncompliant subjects of this investigation than the 9 listed in this article.
THE LIST
Blocked or severely limited requests
Charles Kupperman. Former Deputy National Security Advisor. Subpoenaed deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/28/2019. President Trump invoked “constitutional immunity” (essentially the same as “absolute immunity“) to prevent Kupperman from testifying to House impeachment investigators. The same day as he was served with a subpoena, Kupperman filed a lawsuit asking a federal judge to determine which branch he is legally required to comply with – Trump’s order not to comply or the committees’ order to testify. The outcome of the case could also determine if former National Security Advisor John Bolton cooperates with the impeachment inquiry. In a letter to Kupperman sent Oct. 25, the three chairs threatened contempt charges if Kupperman does not show up for the scheduled deposition.
Michael Duffey. Associate Director for National Security at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Requested deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/23/19. The acting-Director of the OMB, Russell Vought, blocked Duffy from testifying in the impeachment inquiry. Vought also refused to provide testimony. In a tweet sent on Oct. 21, Vought called the impeachment inquiry a sham process. Duffey was involved in approving orders to hold back nearly $400 million in congressionally approved military aid for Ukraine despite some career staffers raising concerns that the move was improper. On Oct. 25, the committees issued a subpoena mandating Duffey appear for a deposition on Nov. 5. It is not known if he plans to comply.
T. Ulrich Brechbuhl. Counselor of the State Department. Requested documents and deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/8/2019. Prohibited from complying with the House request by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who accused the Democratic Chairmen of trying to “intimidate, bully, and treat improperly” State Dept. officials. According to the whistleblower complaint, Brechbuhl was on Trump’s July 25 phone call with Zelensky. The committees issued a subpoena requiring Brechbuhl’s testimony on Nov. 6. It is not yet known if he plans to comply.
Rob Porter. Former White House staff secretary. Subpoenaed testimony before House Judiciary Cmte. 9/17/2019. White House blocked Porter from testifying about the obstruction of justice detailed in Mueller’s report. The White House & Justice Dept. argue that presidential advisers have “absolute immunity” from compelled congressional testimony.
Rick Dearborn. Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff. Subpoenaed testimony before House Judiciary Cmte. 9/17/2019. White House blocked Dearborn from testifying about the obstruction of justice detailed in Mueller’s report (see “absolute immunity”).
**Corey Lewandowski. Former Campaign Manager. Subpoenaed testimony before House Judiciary Cmte. 9/17/19. White House severely limited Lewandowski’s testimony, directing him not to testify about material that is not explicitly stated in the Mueller report. The committee reportedly considered holding Lewandski in contempt; never took action.
**Timothy Robbins. Acting Executive Associate Director of Enforcement and Removal at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Requested testimony before the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 9/11/2019. Directed by leadership not to answer questions regarding the Trump Administration’s policy of deporting families who seek permission to stay in the country to continue lifesaving medical care that is not available in their home countries. Despite reaching an agreement with the committee, the Department of Homeland Security prohibited Robbins from talking about the policy “because a private party had sued the Department.”
**Daniel Renaud. Associate Director of Field Operations at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Requested testimony before the House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. 9/11/2019. Directed by leadership not to answer questions regarding the Trump Administration’s policy of deporting families who seek permission to stay in the country to continue lifesaving medical care that is not available in their home countries. Despite reaching an agreement with the committee, the Department of Homeland Security prohibited Renaud from talking about the policy “because a private party had sued the Department.” Renaud “refused to say why the Trump Administration decided to deport critically ill children, and refused to even clarify what the current policy is.”
Trump Organization, Mar-a-Lago, Trump International Hotel. Trump’s businesses. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte (and Sen. Richard Blumenthal). 7/29/19. A group of over 200 Congress Members filed suit against Trump for violating the Foreign Emoluments Clause, arguing that Congress must consent to all foreign payments — or emoluments — his businesses earn. Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled in favor of the Democrats’ discovery motion, allowing them to issue 37 subpoenas to Trump’s businesses. However, on July 19, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled that Sullivan needed to allow Trump and the DOJ to appeal his rulings, forcing Sullivan to halt all subpoenas. In a separate emoluments case brought by the Attorneys General of Maryland and DC, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced that the full bench will be hearing arguments on Dec. 12.
Kellyanne Conway. Special Counselor to the President. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Oversight Cmte. 7/15/19. White House directed Conway not to provide testimony about her violations of the Hatch Act (see “absolute immunity”) in violation of a subpoena. On July 25, 2019, Chairman Cummings postponed a contempt vote; no other updates.
Ann Donaldson. Former Deputy White House Counsel. Subpoenaed testimony and documents before the House Judiciary Cmte. 6/24/2019. White House prevented Donaldson from giving testimony for over a month, eventually allowing her to submit written answers to some questions. White House lawyers severely limited her written testimony, objecting to over 200 questions posed by lawmakers, and prohibited her from turning over subpoenaed documents. Donaldson was a key witness to Trump’s obstruction of justice as outlined in Mueller’s report.
Hope Hicks. Former White House Director of Communications. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Judiciary Cmte. 6/19/19. White House lawyers prevented Hicks from answering questions posed by lawmakers 155 times during closed-door testimony and ordered Hicks not to turn over any subpoenaed documents from her time in the administration. Following the release of documents that appeared to contradict her testimony, Chairman Nadler asked her to voluntarily clarify her answers; Hicks maintains everything she said was accurate.
Rod Schoonover. Senior Analyst in the State Dept.’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Intelligence Cmte. 6/5/2019. After the White House attempted to skew and demand politically-motivated changes of Dr. Schoonover’s prepared testimony, the State Dept. blocked Schoonover from submitting his written testimony on the “catastrophic” effects of human-caused climate change because it contradicts Trump’s policies and opinions.
Kris Kobach. Former Kansas Secretary of State. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Oversight Cmte. 6/3/2019. White House intervened repeatedly to block Kobach from answering questions about his meetings with Trump and other White House officials, despite the fact that Kobach was not covered under executive privilege as claimed. Kobach was interviewed about the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census.
Don McGahn. Former White House Counsel. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Judiciary Cmte. 5/21/2019. White House directed McGahn not to testify about the obstruction of justice detailed in Mueller’s report (see “absolute immunity”). Chairman Nadler filed suit to force McGahn’s testimony; hearing set for Oct. 31.
Deutsche Bank. A bank used by the Trump family. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence and Financial Services Cmtes. 5/6/19. Trump sued to block Deutsche Bank and Capital One from complying with the House subpoena for financial documents related to Trump, his family, and his businesses. U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled against Trump on May 22. Trump appealed to the Second Circuit, which is now considering the case.
Capital One. A bank used by the Trump family. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence and Financial Services Cmtes. 5/6/19. See the above entry for Deutsche Bank.
John Gore. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for DOJ’s Civil Rights Division. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Oversight Cmte. 4/25/2019. AG Bill Bar directed Gore not to appear at a deposition about the 2020 Census citizenship question. Gore showed up for testimony on 5/17/19 but “declined more than 150 times to answer questions from both Democratic and Republican staff that are central to the Committee’s investigation.” Gore leads the Civil Rights Division, which is charged with enforcing the Voting Rights Act — the law that the DOJ said was driving its push for the citizenship question.
Carl Kline. Former Director of White House Personnel Office. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Oversight Cmte. 4/23/19. Failed to comply with a subpoena to provide testimony on security clearances at the instruction of the WH. Eventually, Kline testified on 5/1/19 after Chairman Cummings threatened contempt charges, but the White House limited Kline’s responses and did not provide the subpoenaed documents. Kline approved official’s security clearances, including Jared Kushner’s, over the objections of career staffers and was accused of retaliating against a whistleblower.
Mazars USA LLP. Served as Trump’s accounting firm. Subpoena for 8 years of Trump’s financial documents issued by the House Oversight Cmte. 4/3/19. Trump sued Mazars and Chairman Cummings on April 22 in an attempt to stop compliance with the subpoena. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled against Trump on May 20 and Trump appealed the decision two days later. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals again ruled against Trump on Oct. 11. Trump’s attorneys may ask for an en banc appeal (requesting all 11 appeals court judges hear the case) or take the case to the Supreme Court. Either option could delay a ruling many months. Mazars has said it will provide Congress with subpoenaed documents if the court directs it to.
Stefan Passantino. Former White House Deputy Counsel. Requested deposition by House Oversight Cmte. 3/18/19. The White House prevented Passantino from providing testimony to the committee about Trump’s financial disclosure that falsely reported the hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels as a campaign expense. Passantino was involved in a phone call in which Trump’s personal lawyer Sheri Dillon provided inaccurate information about the payment to the Office of Government Ethics.
Sheri Dillon. Trump’s personal attorney. Requested deposition by House Oversight Cmte. 3/18/19. It is not known what reason Dillon gave for not providing testimony related to Trump’s hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels (see above entry).
John Kelly. Former White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production and testimony by the House Oversight Cmte. 3/5/2019. The committee twice reached out to Kelly to get more information on the White House security clearance process but the White House prevented Kelly from cooperating. White House counsel Pat Cipollone “chided” Chairman Cummings for not going through the White House to reach Kelly, even though he was no longer an employee. According to CNN: Asked if he had made any progress in getting cooperation from Kelly as he left the Capitol on Thursday, Cummings said, “Not yet…They block us from everything.”
Refused to comply with requests
Kevin McAleenan. Acting Director of Homeland Security. Subpoenaed testimony before the House Homeland Security Cmte. 9/30/19. McAleenan was issued a subpoena on Oct. 24 to provide testimony on the terrorist threats facing the country. The following day, he informed the committee that he would not comply as he is “winding down” his tenure and planning on fulfilling his resignation at the end of the month. Chairman Bennie Thompson noted that the committee had been attempting to secure testimony from McAleenan since July.
Russell Vought. Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Requested deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/25/2019. Vought refused to provide testimony before the committees, citing the White House position that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate. A subpoena was issued on Oct. 25 requiring a deposition on Nov. 6. It is not known if Vought plans to comply.
Mick Mulvaney. Acting Chief of Staff to the President. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/18/2019. The White House failed to comply with a voluntary request for documents related to the Ukraine controversy by the Sept. 16 deadline. After a subpoena was issued on Oct. 4, the White House sent a letter to House leaders stating that officials would not cooperate with any requests or subpoenas in the impeachment inquiry.
Rick Perry. Secretary of Energy. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/18/2019. Energy Dept. refused to produce documents related to his involvement with Ukraine as required by the subpoena. In a letter to the committee, the Dept. said the request is for confidential communications “that are potentially protected by executive privilege and would require careful review.” According to reports, Perry helped communicate Trump’s message to Zelensky that US aid was dependent upon Ukraine investigating the Bidens and pressured Zelensky to “install a friendlier management team at the helm of the gas company, Naftogaz.”
Rudy Giuliani. Personal Attorney to the President. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/15/2019. Giuliani publicly stated that he refused to comply with the subpoena or cooperate at all with the House impeachment inquiry unless Chairman Adam Schiff is “removed” from his position leading the committees; he plans on claiming attorney-client privilege in an attempt to avoid contempt charges. Giuliani is being investigated by Congress for pressuring Ukraine to investigate the Bidens and by SDNY for possibly violating federal lobbying laws in the process.
Mark Esper. Secretary of Defense. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/15/2019. Esper refused to meet the subpoena deadline, citing the White House position that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate. The committees are seeking documents related to the administration’s decision to withhold crucial military assistance to Ukraine. Instead of sending documents to the committees, the Defense Dept. is sending material to the White House first, giving Trump the ultimate say in whether the House receives any relevant information.
Russell Vought. Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/15/2019. Vought refused to comply with the subpoena, citing the White House position that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate. The committees are seeking documents related to the administration’s decision to withhold crucial military assistance to Ukraine.
Mike Pence. Vice President. Request for document production made by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/15/2019. The committees requested Pence voluntarily turn over documents related to his knowledge of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Zelensky and Pence’s Sept. 1 meeting with Zelensky in which he reportedly told the Ukrainians that Trump was withholding aid until Zelensky supported an investigation of the Bidens. Pence spokeswoman Katie Waldman issued a statement saying the Dem’s letter “does not appear to be a serious request but just another attempt by the Do Nothing Democrats to call attention to their partisan impeachment.”
Igor Fruman. Business associate of Rudy Giuliani. Requested document production and testimony before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/11/2019. Fruman refused to cooperate with the committees, citing the White House position that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate. Subpoena issued on Oct. 10 for document production by Oct. 16. Both Fruman and Parnas were arrested Oct. 10 on charges of conspiracy, falsifying records and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.
Lev Parnas. Business associate of Rudy Giuliani. Requested document production and testimony before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/10/2019. Parnas refused to cooperate with the committees, citing the White House position that the impeachment inquiry is illegitimate. Subpoena issued on Oct. 10 for document production by Oct. 16. Both Fruman and Parnas were arrested Oct. 10 on charges of conspiracy, falsifying records and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission.
Mike Pompeo. Secretary of State. Subpoena issued by the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/4/2019. Refused to comply with a voluntary request for documents by Sept. 16 and a subsequent subpoena compelling information related to the Ukraine controversy by Oct. 4. Pompeo was on Trump’s July 25 call with Zelensky, despite initially dodging questions on the matter. Pompeo is also attempting to block several current and former State Dept. employees from participating in the House impeachment inquiry; House Chairmen warn he may be involved in a “blatant cover-up and a clear abuse of power.” The three committees renewed their request on Oct. 23.
Wilbur Ross. Secretary of Commerce Department. Request for document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 9/19/19. Ross refused to produce many requested documents regarded his multiple conflicts of interest, and the documents he did produce were heavily redacted. The Democratic-led committee made its first demand for documents on Feb. 8, 2019. Ross is known to have spent most of 2017 in office while maintaining partial ownership of, among other things: Chinese state-owned enterprises, a shipping company tied to Russian oligarchs, a Cypriot bank that’s involved in Robert Mueller’s investigation, and as a major player in the auto parts industry with a direct stake in Commerce’s trade policy decisions. Ross then lied about these conflicts of interests, falsely claiming to have divested of everything he promised he would.
Kevin McAleenan. Acting Director of Homeland Security. Requested testimony before the House Homeland Security Cmte. 9/10/19. Refused to provide testimony at the committee’s annual Sept. terrorism hearing (a request first made in July), which focused on the growth in domestic terrorist threats in the U.S. McAleenan failed to show up for a previous hearing on May 1 and was supposed to appear before the committee on Oct. 8 but withdrew from the agreement. A subpoena was issued on Oct. 24, to which McAleenan told the committee that he still refused to comply. McAleenan finally agreed to show up and provided testimony on Oct. 30.
Christopher Wray. Director of the FBI. Requested testimony before the House Homeland Security Cmte. 9/10/19. Refused to provide testimony at the committee’s annual Sept. terrorism hearing (a request first made in July), which focused on the growth in domestic terrorist threats in the United States. Wray failed to comply with previous requests (going back to Feb 2019) from the committee for documents and briefings on countering rightwing extremism and domestic terrorism. He eventually testified on Oct. 30.
Russell Travers. Acting Director of National Counterterrorism Center. Requested testimony before the House Homeland Security Cmte. 9/10/19. Refused to provide testimony at the committee’s annual Sept. terrorism hearing (a request first made in July), which focused on the growth in domestic terrorist threats in the U.S. Travers was scheduled to provide testimony before the committee on Oct. 30 but withdrew from the agreement to appear on Oct. 8. A subpoena was issued on Oct. 24; Travers finally appeared on Oct. 30.
Patrick Shanahan & Mark Esper. Secretary of Defense. Requested document production issued by the House Oversight Cmte. 9/8/2019. First under Shanahan, then under Esper, the Dept. of Defense refused to provide documents related to the US military spending taxpayer money at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland. The first request was made on June 21, the second on Sept. 10, and the third on Sept. 18. In the final known letter, the committee wrote that although the Dept. “finally began providing information… the Dept.’s response has been woefully inadequate,” consisting of “only 21 pages of material—half of which appear to be publicly available on government websites.” It is unknown if the Dept. complied with the third request, as the Ukraine controversy and impeachment inquiry pushed it out of the news.
Mick Mulvaney. Acting White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production and testimony before the House Oversight Cmte’s Subcommittee on National Security. 8/5/2019. The White House refused to provide requested information about why the administration took a year to impose additional sanctions on Russia for its use of a “novichok” nerve agent to poison the Skirpals in the U.K. By law, the administration was supposed to impose additional punitive measures within 3 months of the incident. The first request was made on Aug. 5 and the second on Sept. 9. The White House has refused to comply with all requests because, according to a false claim in a letter by White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, all of the Committee’s questions had been “fully” answered in previous correspondence.
Betsy DeVos. Secretary of Education Department. Requested information issued by House Oversight Cmte. 7/29/19. DeVos refused to comply with both Republican-led and Democratic-led committee requests for information about the Education Dept.’s use of personal email accounts for official business. On May 16, 2019, the Dept.’s Inspector General released a report revealing that DeVos herself used a personal email account to conduct official business and that she did not forward these emails to her official account as required by federal law.
Mike Pompeo. Secretary of State. Requested briefing before House Foreign Affairs, Judiciary, and Homeland Security Cmtes.7/27/19. State Dept. refused to provide committees with a briefing on the legality of safe third country agreements with Guatemala and Mexico. The administration’s policy allows the U.S. to send back asylum-seekers who pass these countries on their way to the U.S. but do not apply for asylum there first. Opponents argue that these “third countries” are not actually safe and the administration is actually sending refugees directly back into the danger they were fleeing in the first place.
Michael Flynn. Former National Security Adviser. Subpoenaed document production and testimony before the House Intelligence Cmte. 7/10/19. Flynn declined to voluntarily comply with the committee’s request for documents and testimony regarding the efforts of Russia and other foreign entities to influence the 2016 election. A subpoena was issued on June 13, 2019; Flynn again did not comply, despite assuring the courts that he would do “everything [he] possibly can for the United States” in order to receive a favorable sentence for lying to the FBI in the Mueller probe.
Rick Gates. Deputy Campaign Manager (of Trump’s 2016 campaign). Subpoenaed document production and testimony before the House Intelligence Cmte. 7/10/19. Gates declined to voluntarily comply with the committee’s request for documents and testimony regarding the efforts of Russia and other foreign entities to influence the 2016 election. A subpoena was issued on June 13, 2019; Gates again did not comply.
Pat Cipollone. White House Chief Counsel. Requested document production and briefing for the House Oversight Cmte. 7/10/2019. The White House refused to provide information regarding White House officials’ use of their personal devices/email accounts for official business in violation of the Presidential Records Act. The first three requests were made by the Republican-controlled committee in 2018. Chairman Cummings then sent three more requests: Dec. 19, 2018; March 21, 2019; July 1, 2019. Covered under these requests were Jared Kushner’s WhatsApp messages to communicate with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia. The committee voted to authorize subpoenas on July 25; there was no further reporting indicating whether subpoenas were ultimately issued.
Mick Mulvaney. Acting White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 7/10/19. The White House refused to comply with 2 years worth of requests for information on the Trump administration’s response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As part of the investigation, the committee is looking into contracts FEMA awarded to companies that were too small and understaffed to adequately meet the needs of hurricane victims. Cummings and Subcommittee on Environment Chairman Harley Rouda wrote that if the administration did not comply, the committee would pursue “compulsory” action, but no subpoenas were ever issued.
Russell Vought. Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Requested testimony before the House Oversight Cmte. 7/3/19. Vought refused to provide testimony about the Trump administration’s decision to argue in court that the ACA (Obamacare) should be invalidated in its entirety. According to media reports, Vought argued for this decision internally and helped craft a budget that includes the repeal of the act.
Kevin McAleenan. Acting Secretary of Homeland Security. Requested briefing and document production by the House Oversight and Judiciary Cmtes, Homeland Security Subcommittee. 7/2/19. DHS failed to provide the committees with a legal basis for the appointment of Ken Cuccinelli as acting Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services despite the Senate committing not to confirm Cuccinelli. According to the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, an acting official must be the agency’s top deputy, another Senate-confirmed official, or a senior agency official who had been in their job for at least 90 days prior to a vacancy.
Mitchell Zais (and Betsy DeVos). Deputy Secretary (and Secretary) of Education Department. Requested documents and briefing before the House Oversight Cmte. 6/10/19. First DeVos, then Zais, refused to comply with requests for information on the Dept.’s attempt to remove Acting Inspector General Sandra Bruce—who was investigating the actions of Secretary Betsy DeVos—and replace her with Deputy General Counsel Philip H. Rosenfelt. The Dept. backtracked on replacing Bruce after significant backlash, but still declined to provide details on their decision. Zais was reportedly upset that Bruce was keeping Congress informed of the investigation into DeVos and tried to direct the probe himself; when Bruce was not influenced, Zais notified her of her imminent removal.
William Barr. Attorney General. Subpoenaed document production issued by House Oversight Cmte. 6/6/2019. Barr refused to turn over unredacted documents requested by the committee in its investigation of the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. A subpoena was issued on April 2. After Barr declined to comply, the committee voted on July 17 to hold Barr and Ross in criminal contempt of Congress.
Wilbur Ross. Secretary of Commerce Department. Subpoenaed document production issued by House Oversight Cmte. 6/6/2019. Ross refused to turn over unredacted documents requested by the committee in its investigation of the Trump administration’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census. A subpoena was issued on April 2. After Ross declined to comply, the committee voted on July 17 to hold Ross and Barr in criminal contempt of Congress.
Steven Mnuchin. Secretary of Treasury Dept. Subpoenaed document production by the House Ways & Means Committee. 5/17/19. Mnuchin refused to comply with a subpoena for six years of Trump’s personal and business taxes. Chairman Richard Neal sued the Treasury Dept., Mnuchin, the IRS, and its Commissioner Charles Rettig to force compliance. The case is overseen by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, who rejected the committee’s request to expedite the case on Aug 29. On Aug. 19, House Democrats submitted a filing that revealed the existence of a whistleblower alleging that at least one Treasury Department political appointee attempted to improperly interfere
William Barr. Attorney General. Requested testimony before the House Judiciary Cmte. 5/2/2019. Barr refused to testify about his handling of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation because he did not want to be questioned by committee staffers in addition to lawmakers. Barr only appeared before the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Cmte.
William Barr. Attorney General. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 5/1/19. Barr refused to provide the committee with the full, unredacted Mueller report, including underlying evidence and grand jury materials. The committee voted to hold Barr in contempt of Congress on May 8 and, in response, Barr had Trump claim executive privilege over the report and its underlying evidence. The following month, the DOJ made a deal with the committee to provide access to some of Mueller’s evidence, except the grand jury materials. The committee took the issue to court on July 26 and on Oct. 25 Judge Chief Judge Beryl Howell ordered the Justice Dept. to turn over redacted grand jury material from Mueller’s report by October 30, 2019.
James Gfrerer. Chief Information Officer at the Veterans Affairs Dept. Requested testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Technology Modernization. 4/2/19. The V.A. refused to make Gfrerer – or any other official – available to testify about the V.A.’s multibillion IT upgrades. Both the Democratic Chair and Republican Ranking Member were “disappointed” by the failure of the V.A. to send any official to testify.
William Barr. Attorney General. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Oversight Cmte. 4/1/19. The Justice Department failed to comply with nearly a years-worth of requests for information on the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. The vote to authorize subpoenas was approved by all Democratic members and two Republicans: Reps. Chip Roy and Justin Amash. The subpoenaed documents were never produced in full.
Kirstjen Nielsen. Then-Secretary of Homeland Security. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Oversight Cmte. 4/1/19. The Dept. of Homeland Security failed to comply with nearly a years-worth of requests for information on the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. The vote to authorize subpoenas was approved by all Democratic members and two Republicans: Reps. Chip Roy and Justin Amash. The subpoenaed documents were never produced in full.
Alex Azar. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Oversight Cmte. 4/1/19. The Dept. of Health & Human Services failed to comply with nearly a years-worth of requests for information on the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. The vote to authorize subpoenas was approved by all Democratic members and two Republicans: Reps. Chip Roy and Justin Amash. The subpoenaed documents were never produced in full.
Emily Murphy. General Services Administrator. Requested document production by the House Oversight and Transportation & Infrastructure Cmtes., as well as 3 subcommittees. 3/20/19. The General Services Administration (GSA) failed to comply with multiple demands for documents that would shed light on the Trump administration’s “abrupt decision to abandon a long-term plan” to move the FBI headquarters to Washington, DC. Murphy has defended Trump against accusations that he intervened “to preserve the site’s government ownership and deny any potential competitors to the Trump International Hotel at the Old Post Office Pavilion up the street.” However, the GSA Inspector General found that Trump was involved in the decision and his report indicates Murphy omitted key facts when she testified before Congress in 2018. Additionally in a Jan. 2019 report, the IG determined that the GSA ignored the Constitution by letting Trump lease the Old Post Office Pavilion for DC hotel.
Christopher Wray. Director of FBI. Requested document production by the House Oversight and Transportation & Infrastructure Cmtes., as well as 2 subcommittees. 3/20/19. The FBI failed to turn over documents related to the Trump administration’s decision to cancel the relocation of its headquarters (see entry above for more detail). AG Barr was also sent a letter requesting information; it is not known if the DOJ complied.
Trump Campaign. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Trump and the White House issued a blanket denial to comply with any of the 81 congressional subpoenas† directed at entities under their control. White House Counsel Pat Cipollone argued in a letter to Chairman Nadler that Congress is not a law enforcement body and does not have a legitimate purpose to investigate the questions it is pursuing.
Trump Foundation. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Trump and the White House issued a blanket denial to comply with any of the 81 congressional subpoenas† directed at entities under their control.
Trump Organization. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Trump and the White House issued a blanket denial to comply with any of the 81 congressional subpoenas† directed at entities under their control.
Trump Transition. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Trump and the White House issued a blanket denial to comply with any of the 81 congressional subpoenas† directed at entities under their control.
The White House. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Trump and the White House issued a blanket denial to comply with any of the 81 congressional subpoenas† directed at entities under their control.
Roger Stone. Trump 2016 campaign adviser. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Stone declined to cooperate with the committee’s investigation, invoking his 5th amendment rights to avoid complying with a subpoena† requesting documents related to Trump’s involvement with Russia and Russian figures.
Michael Caputo. Trump 2016 campaign adviser. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Refused to comply with a subpoena† requesting documents related to the 2016 Trump Tower meeting and Trump’s team’s interaction with Russian figures; threatened to invoke the fifth amendment if asked to testify.
Mark Corallo. Former Trump legal team spokesman Mark Corallo. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Did not comply with a subpoena† requesting documents related to the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, Trump’s team’s interaction with Russian figures, Trump’s contacts with James Comey, and the firing/resignation of Michael Flynn; claims his communications were protected by attorney-client and work-product privilege
Don McGahn. Former White House Counsel. Subpoena for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 3/18/19. Mcgahn declined to comply with a subpoena† requesting documents related to a wide variety of topics including Trump’s contacts with Russian individuals, any contact with Wikileaks, discussion of firing key figures like Mueller, and discussion of pardons of Manafort, Flynn, or Cohen. McGahn referred all committee inquiries to the White House.
Mick Mulvaney. Acting White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production and interviews with staff by the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence Cmtes. 3/15/2019. The White House refused to provide requested information regarding reports the Trump violated the Presidential Records Act by destroying documents to keep secret the details of his meetings with Putin. The first request for information was made on Feb. 21, 2019; the second on March 4; the third on June 24. In addition to any copies of notes from Trump’s meetings with Putin, the committees also requested interviews with all staff “who participated in, attended, or in any way listened in on Trump’s” meetings and phone calls with Putin.
Mike Pompeo. Secretary of State. Requested document production and interviews with staff by the House Oversight, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence Cmtes. 3/15/2019. As a result of the White House’s refusal to provide requested information about Trump’s meetings with Putin (see above), the committees expanded their probe to include the State Dept., which likewise did not comply. Ranking Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Cmte. Bob Menendez also requested Trump’s notes from his 2018 Helsinki meeting with Putin on Aug. 24, 2018 – the State Dept. did not respond. The Federal Records Act requires that Pompeo preserve all State Department records, which include the Trump-Putin meeting notes prepared by State Department employees.
Robert Wilkie. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Requested document production by the House Cmte on Veterans’ Affairs. 3/8/19. Wilkie repeatedly refused to provide documents related to reports that members of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago golf club improperly influenced policy and personnel decisions at the Dept. of Veterans Affairs. Trump allegedly approved of a V.A. “shadow cabal” made up of three Mar-a-Lago members: Marvel Entertainment CEO Ike Perlmutter, Palm Beach concierge doctor Bruce Moskowitz, and financial consultant Marc Sherman.
William Barr. Attorney General. Requested briefing before the House Homeland Security Cmte. 3/8/19. Barr failed to show up for two briefings before the committee related to domestic terrorism and the Justice Department’s plan to address the rise of rightwing extremism.
Mick Mulvaney. Acting White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 3/5/19. The administration refused to provide the committee with any information about “efforts inside the White House to rush the transfer of highly sensitive U.S. nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia in potential violation of the Atomic Energy Act and without review by Congress as required by law.” Jared Kushner was a key architect of the plan, who also potentially benefited from the transfer. The administration approved of transfers of nuclear tech on two occasions after the slaying of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi by agents of the kingdom.
Pat Cipollone. White House Chief Counsel. Requested document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 2/22/19. The White House refused to provide documents related to Trump’s involvement in hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. The committee submitted three requests: on Sept. 12, 2018; Jan. 8, 2019; Feb. 15, 2019. Cipollone also blocked Passantino from providing testimony to the committee.
Emily Murphy. General Services Administrator. Requested document production by the House Transportation & Infrastructure Cmte. 2/8/19. First under Acting Administrator Timothy Horne, then Emily Murphy, the GAS has refused to provide the committee with information about the decision to allow the president to keep his lease for the Trump International Hotel in Washington. The GSA Inspector General outlined its determination in a Jan. 2019 report that the GSA ignored the Constitution by letting Trump lease the Old Post Office Pavilion for his hotel. The IG recommended that Trump “be divested of ownership” of the property. Despite the IG’s finding, the GSA has not fully complied with over two years of requests from the committee; Chairman DeFazio sent yet another letter on Oct. 17, setting an Oct. 23 deadline for compliance and threatening to subpoena the materials if the GSA remains in noncompliance.
Matthew Whitaker. Acting Attorney General. Request for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 2/8/19. The Justice Department failed to comply with nearly a years-worth of requests for information on the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. The committee sent another request on Jan. 11, 2019, which also went unanswered, eventually leading to the committee approving subpoenas to obtain responses on family separation.
Mike Pence. Vice President (and head of 2016 Transition Team). Requested document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 2/6/19. Pence failed to provide information about “whether the Transition Team submitted a security clearance application” for Michael Flynn, Jr. (General Flynn’s son), “despite claims that he was merely assisting in scheduling matters.” Democrats renewed their request on Jan. 23, 2019, in a letter to Pat Cipollone [Original request on Dec. 17, 2017, with a Dec. 22, 2017 deadline].
Reince Priebus. Then-White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 2/6/19. Priebus refused to provide the committee with documents regarding the White House security clearance process and information about the clearances of specific individuals, including former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and Senior Adviser to the President Jared Kushner. Democrats renewed their request on Jan. 23, 2019, in a letter to Pat Cipollone [Original request on June 21, 2017, with a July 5, 2017, deadline].
Kirstjen Nielsen. Then-Secretary of Homeland Security. Request for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 1/25/19. The Department of Homeland Security failed to comply with nearly a years-worth of requests for information on the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. The committee sent another request on Jan. 11, 2019, which also went unanswered, eventually leading to the committee approving subpoenas to obtain responses on family separation. It is unclear if the subpoenas were ever issued or to whom.
Alex Azar. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Request for document production issued by the House Judiciary Cmte. 1/25/19. The Dept. of Health and Human Services failed to comply with nearly a years-worth of requests for information on the administration’s policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border. The committee sent another request on Jan. 11, 2019, which also went unanswered, eventually leading to the committee approving subpoenas to obtain responses on family separation. It is unclear if the subpoenas were ever issued or to whom.
John Kelly. Then-White House Chief of Staff. Requested document production by the House Oversight Cmte. 1/11/19. Kelly refused to provide the committee with documents regarding the White House security clearance process and information about the clearances of specific individuals, including: former National Security Council Senior Director Robin Townley, former White House Staff Secretary Robert Porter, and then-National Security Adviser John Bolton. Kelly did not cooperate when the committee was led by Republicans or Democrats.
Extra credit: Attempted stonewalling
The Trump administration attempted to block the testimony of five current and former officials in the impeachment inquiry. These individuals testified anyway.
Philip Reeker. Acting Assistant Secretary of State in Europe and Eurasian Bureau. Subpoenaed deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/26/2019. The State Dept. directed Reeker not to cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry and attempted to “limit any testimony that did occur.” Reeker was subpoenaed and complied with the committees’ requests, testifying that he tried to defend former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch from rightwing smears pushed primarily by Rudy Giuliani.
Laura Cooper. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense. Subpoenaed document production and deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/23/19. The Defense Dept. sent Cooper a letter the day before her scheduled deposition warning her of the administration-wide policy against participating in the impeachment probe. It is clear from the letter that the administration attempted to persuade Cooper from testifying. Not dissuaded, Cooper showed up only to have House Republicans storm the secure room just as her deposition was about to begin, delaying it by five hours but ultimately not preventing her from providing testimony by the end of the day.
Gordon Sondland. US Ambassador to the EU. Subpoenaed document production and deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/17/2019. Ordered at the last minute not to testify at the original deposition on Oct. 8 by the State Dept. The State Dept. is also withholding Sondland’s text messages and emails on a personal device. A subpoena was issued on Oct. 8 for document production by the 14th and deposition on the 16th; Sondland appeared on the 17th and testified that Trump’s pressure on Ukraine could have been a quid pro quo, contradicting his text message from September. The State Dept. continues to withhold subpoenaed documents.
George Kent. Deputy Assistant Secretary of the State Department. Subpoenaed documents and deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/15/2019. Did not show up for scheduled deposition on Oct. 7 because of Secy. of State Mike Pompeo’s stonewalling; Pompeo accused the Democratic Chairmen of trying to “intimidate, bully, and treat improperly” State Dept. officials. Kent rescheduled and provided testimony on Oct. 15, though the State Dept. tried to limit his testimony and still withheld documents. Giuliani accused Yovanovitch and Kent of trying to protect the Bidens and working for George Soros. Kent later warned colleagues that Ambassador Yovanovitch was being targeted by “a classic disinformation operation” run by Giuliani and conservative media.
Fiona Hill. Senior Director for European and Russian Affairs on the National Security Council. Subpoenaed deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/14/2019. White House tried to limit Hill’s testimony, writing in a letter that she may not talk about four areas due to executive privilege: direct communications with the president, diplomatic communications, meetings with other heads of state and staffing the president had on calls with foreign heads of state, the correspondence shows. Hill’s lawyers responded that executive privilege disappears when there’s reason to believe there was government misconduct. It is unknown if Hill discussed issues that fall under the four areas of claimed privilege, but CBS News reported that Hill could not turn over any requested documents. According to CNN, Hill testified that Rudy Giuliani, Gordon Sondland, and Mick Mulvaney ran a rogue operation to dig up dirt on Trump’s political opponents.
Marie Yovanovitch. Former US Ambassador to Ukraine. Subpoenaed deposition before the House Intelligence, Oversight, & Foreign Affairs Cmtes. 10/11/2019. White House and State Dept. directed Yovanovitch not to cooperate. She provided testimony in defiance of the Administration’s order after the committees issued a subpoena, but she could not provide any of the requested documents. Trump recalled Yovanovitch in May 2019 because she opposed Giuliani’s secret Ukrainian dealings and pressure for Biden investigations. Yovanovitch’s opening statement can be found here.