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House Watch Committee Chair Elijah Cummings, D-Med, said Sunday that he had scheduled an interview this week with former White House security director Carl Kline , during the investigation of the panel on security clearances of the White House.
Kline, who was likely to be found guilty of contempt of Congress after failing to appear last week to testify, agreed Saturday to meet with the committee. On Sunday, Cummings announced that he was scheduling the interview on May 1 at 10 am.
The panel summoned Kline after a former subordinate told him that dozens of Trump administration officials had obtained security clearance despite "disqualifying issues" in their context.
Kline challenged a subpoena to appear on the White House's orders, prompting Democrats to threaten contempt for him. The White House then said Kline could appear Wednesday to discuss "personnel security policies and practices."
MONITORING THE HOUSE SUBPOENA TRUMP ACCOUNTING
"Your refusal to participate in a deposition last Tuesday following a duly authorized subpoena by this committee is a very serious matter that puts you in grave legal jeopardy," Cummings wrote to Kline in a statement. letter made public Sunday. "Your actions are particularly egregious because you did not even appear before the Committee as required to subpoena.I understand that the White House has ordered you not to appear, but this It is not a valid legal reason to challenge a subpoena to appear before Congress.The President affirmed that No. Constitutional privilege and did not release you from the legal obligation that the assignment has imposed. "
Kline's subpoena was issued as part of a security clearance committee investigation by senior Trump administration officials, including Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the former advisor to the National Security Michael Flynn and former White House aide Rob Porter.
The investigation intensified after Tricia Newbold, an 18-year-old government employee who had overseen the issuance of clearances to some senior White House officials, revealed that she had listed at least 25 officials who had initially been denied a security clearance last year. cancel these refusals.
VOTES ON MONITORING OF HOUSES PUBLISH SUB-POINAS ON WHITE HOUSE SECURITY AUTHORIZATIONS
The documents, which are based on the interview with the Newbold private committee on March 23, do not identify the list's officials, but mention that they include "two current senior officials of the White House, as well as entrepreneurs and individuals "in different parts of the executive office of The President.
The White House's defeat of Kline's summons came after Trump's lawyers sued the court to block the subpoenas from the president's financial records.
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The Oversight Committee, earlier this month, has announced that it will assign accounting firm Mazars USA LLC to appear for Trump's financial information. Cummings wishes to obtain annual statements, periodic financial reports and independent audit reports from Mazars, as well as records of communications with Trump.
In searching for documents, Cummings quoted February testimony from Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, who said the president had inflated or depreciated the value of his assets when it would be beneficial.
Brooke Singman of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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