House Oversight Committee chair postpones holding White House official in contempt

Former official Carl Kline will instead appear before the committee for a transcribed interview on Wednesday after he did not comply with a subpoena for a deposition.

"I am confident that the Committee could move forward with contempt against you immediately, particularly since your defiance of the Committee's subpoena was so flagrant," the Maryland Democrat wrote in a letter to Kline Saturday. "However, I have always endeavored to be as fair as possible in the pursuit of truth, particularly with witnesses who are willing to come before the Committee."

The White House had instructed Kline, who now works at the Defense Department, to defy a committee subpoena because Cummings would not allow a White House attorney to attend Kline's deposition, citing committee rules.

Kline's personal counsel and attorneys from the White House Counsel's office will now be permitted to attend the interview.

"Carl and I will attend Wednesday voluntarily, as we have offered from the beginning. I hope the session is productive," Robert Driscoll, Kline's attorney, said in a statement.

Kline's testimony has been of high interest for Democrats after a career White House official told committee investigators that Kline greenlighted security clearances for White House officials despite red flags raised in the vetting process.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

CNN's Manu Raju contributed to this report.

Let's block ads! (Why?)