Trump Counsel Expected to Testify Before House Judiciary Panel

(Bloomberg) -- Former White House Counsel Donald McGahn is expected to testify behind closed doors next week to a U.S. House committee about Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, according to two people familiar with the negotiations.

The exact day of McGahn’s appearance before Judiciary Committee members has not been finalized, the person said. It would culminate a long-running legal dispute over his refusal to comply with a committee subpoena, which had pitted two branches of government against each other.

Committee members from both parties are expected to be in Washington during the chamber’s current recess to attend in person.

In a joint filing in Washington earlier this month, lawyers for the two sides announced the deal for the interview. Ground rules included that it should be limited to a set number of topics, including the events described in the publicly available portion of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference.

McGahn was described in the Mueller report as a witness to incidents that prompted Mueller to later say that he could not clear former President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice. House Democrats are expected to press him on details of those incidents.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler’s committee spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.