Fox News House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry has quickly expanded since Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed off last week, with committee leaders already sending or threatening subpoenas to key Trump administration officials involved in the Ukraine controversy, and scheduling testimony for individuals who could bolster their case.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who is playing a central role in leading the impeachment inquiry, has vowed to move quickly through this process, identifying individuals the committee wants to hear from.
“We will move as expeditiously as possible,” Schiff told CNN last week. “But we have to see what witnesses are going to make themselves available and what witnesses are going to require compulsion.”
Over the weekend, Schiff, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-MD., subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for documents related to Ukraine they said were critical to their probe.
“Your failure or refusal to comply with the subpoena shall constitute evidence of obstruction on the House’s impeachment inquiry,” they wrote.
Schiff has also scheduled closed-door testimony from intelligence community Inspector General Michael Atkinson, who is slated to appear before the panel on Friday. Atkinson is the intelligence community watchdog who first received the whistleblower complaint and transmitted it to Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire.
Schiff has also scheduled depositions for several State Department officials later next month.