Hope Hicks agrees to testify before House Judiciary Committee
Hope Hicks, a former top aide to President Trump during his campaign and in the first year of his administration, has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. Her decision was first reported by the Washington Post.
"Ms. Hicks understands that the Committee will be free to pose questions as it sees fit, including about her time on the Trump Campaign and her time in the White House," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement Wednesday evening.
"Should there be a privilege or other objection regarding any question, we will attempt to resolve any disagreement while reserving our right to take any and all measures in response to unfounded privilege assertions. We look forward to her testimony and plan to make the transcript promptly available to the public," Nadler said.
The Democratic-led Judiciary Committee is investigating whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice by interfering in the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Hicks was interviewed by special counsel investigators.
Hicks may refuse to answer some of the questions asked by Judiciary Committee members during the closed-door hearing because of the president's invocation of executive privilege over events that took place in the White House. A member of the White House counsel's office will be present for Hicks' testimony, which is scheduled to take place next Wednesday.
The White House instructed Hicks and Annie Donaldson, the chief of staff to former White House Counsel Don McGahn not to hand over documents to the House Judiciary Committee last week, according to Nadler. Hicks did agree to turn over some records related to her time working for the campaign.
The committee issued a subpoena last month to Hicks and Donaldson in light of revelations in special counsel Robert Mueller's report.
Hicks left the White House in February 2018, shortly after admitting to the House Intelligence Committee that she had told "white lies" for the president.
Rebecca Kaplan contributed to this report.