Trump frustrated as White House effort to defy impeachment inquiry fails to halt witness testimony

Source: Washington Post

After weeks of dismissing the impeachment inquiry as a hollow partisan attack, President Trump and his closest advisers now recognize the snowballing probe poses a serious threat to the president — and that they have little power to block it, according to multiple aides and advisers. The dawning realization comes as Democrats rapidly gather evidence from witness after witness testifying about the pressure put on Ukraine to investigate Trump’s political rivals. The president is increasingly frustrated that his efforts to stop people from cooperating with the probe have so far collapsed under the weight of legally powerful congressional subpoenas, advisers said.

The Democratic strategy got a boost Friday from a federal judge, who ruled that the House impeachment inquiry is legal. In the coming week, House investigators are scheduled to hear testimony from five more witnesses, including on Saturday from a Foreign Service officer stationed in Kyiv, who is expected to testify about the efforts to oust the previous U.S. ambassador.

In a sign of the growing realization of his potential jeopardy, Trump has brought back Jane and Marty Raskin, criminal defense attorneys who were part of his legal team during the Mueller investigation, to help him navigate the impeachment investigation, along with his attorney Jay Sekulow and White House lawyers. Their return is a late acknowledgment, some White House advisers say, that the facts coming out are bad for the president, and both his White House and personal attorneys need to try to get in front of what else may emerge.

The president’s reconstituted legal team is racing to master details about the administration’s dealings with Ukraine, along with the efforts of their longtime co-counsel, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to push Ukraine officials to investigate Trump’s foes. Meanwhile, White House officials have begun holding regular impeachment strategy meetings, often in the Situation Room. Some advisers are discussing bringing in a veteran lawyer with impeachment experience, and actively seeking a communications strategist, according to advisers and officials. The White House did not respond to requests for comment. Sekulow and the Raskins declined to comment.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-frustrated-as-white-house-effort-to-defy-impeachment-inquiry-fails-to-halt-witness-testimony-advisers-say/2019/10/25/632e94b6-f5b0-11e9-8cf0-4cc99f74d127_story.html