White House keeping "all of its legal options open in regard to any subpoena," official says
President Trump is rising up against congressional Democrats who want to see his financial data and question current and former White House aides. The president told The Washington Post his staffers should not testify on Capitol Hill. He said they cooperated fully with special counsel Robert Mueller and "there is no reason to go any further, especially in Congress where it's very partisan."
The House Judiciary Committee has sent a subpoena for testimony from former White House counsel Don McGahn, a crucial witness in the Mueller investigation.
The president's new comments come as a senior administration official tells CBS News "the White House will keep all of its legal options open in regard to any subpoena served on a current or former administration official."
McGahn is mentioned more than 150 times in the Mueller report. McGahn recounted in detail to investigators how the president ordered him to fire the special counsel and then pressured him to deny that ever happened.
Mr. Trump is accusing House Democrats of trying to score political points, telling The Washington Post, "I allowed my lawyers and all the people to go and testify to Mueller. ... I could have taken the absolute opposite route."
House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler said, "the moment for the White House to assert some privilege to prevent this testimony from being heard has long since passed."
All of this comes amid escalating tensions between the administration and Congress.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin defied a second demand from House Democrats to turn over Mr. Trump's tax returns.