On instructions from President Trump, WH counselor Kellyanne Conway refused a subpoena on Monday.
Conway had been accused of violating the Hatch Act for criticizing the insanity of the left and did not show up to testify at a House Oversight Commitee hearing after Trump gave her the advice to do so in June.
This prompted the OSC to subpoena Conway, which she ignored.
One month ago, the federal watchdogs at OSC had told President Trump to fire Conway over the supposed violations, but he refused to take any action to punish her over the ridiculous claims.
Take a look at this breaking news on Twitter:
WH Counsel Cipollone delivered a letter to the committee informing them of President Trump's instructions for Conway to skip the hearing:
The Oversight Committee is now threatening to hold Conway in contempt of Congress.
Their Twitter page responded to Conway's refusal to show up:
Dems are losing their minds over Conway's refusal to show up at the hearing.
Take a look at these response tweets:
Anti-Trump organization Stand Up America is calling for Conway to be fired and held in contempt:
The Hill has more details on Conway's refusal of the subpoena:
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defied a congressional subpoena demanding her testimony Monday on instructions from President Trump, raising the likelihood the House Oversight and Reform Committee will soon vote to hold her in contempt.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone notified the committee in a letter Monday that Trump had directed Conway to evade the appearance, arguing that she is immune from mandated congressional testimony about her work in the West Wing.
“The long-standing principle of immunity for senior advisers to the President is firmly rooted in the Constitution's separation of powers and protects the core functions of the Presidency,” Cipollone wrote to Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Monday.
“We are adhering to this well-established precedent in order to ensure that future Presidents can effectively execute the responsibilities of the Office of the President,” Cipollone wrote.
The committee convened briefly for the hearing Monday afternoon without Conway. Cummings said he would schedule a business meeting on July 25 to vote to hold Conway in contempt if she does not appear for testimony.
“We hope Ms. Conway will reconsider,” Cummings said in opening remarks. “Our goal is to hear from Ms. Conway. If she does not change course, we have no choice but to hold her accountable.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (Ohio), the committee’s top Republican, called the hearing “pure politics” and part of an effort “to silence one of the president’s top advisers.”
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accused Democrats on the committee of waging a “purely political campaign to harass the President and his close advisers.”
“Democrats continue to overreach and politicize the Office of Special Counsel — this time, by trying to silence Kellyanne Conway with ill-founded, phony allegations about the Hatch Act,” Grisham said in a statement, asserting that the committee “clearly knows” Conway cannot be compelled for congressional testimony.
Politico also had the following to say:
White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway on Monday defied a congressional subpoena, refusing to show up for testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee about her violations of the Hatch Act and prompting House Democrats to threaten to hold her in contempt of Congress.
In a letter to Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the chairman of the panel, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone asserted the Trump administration’s long-standing view that current and former presidential advisers are “absolutely immune” from congressional testimony, writing: “Ms. Conway cannot be compelled to testify before Congress with respect to matters related to her service as a senior adviser to the president.”
“Because of this constitutional immunity, and in order to protect the prerogatives of the Office of the President, the president has directed Ms. Conway not to appear at the committee's scheduled hearing,” Cipollone continued.
Cummings threatened to hold Conway in contempt of Congress if she does not honor the subpoena before July 25.
“This is a clear cut case. We are not requiring her to testify about advice she gave the president or about the White House’s policy decisions,” Cummings said before adjourning Monday’s hearing.
“We are requiring her to testify before Congress about her multiple violations of federal law, her waste of taxpayer funds, and her actions that compromise public confidence in the integrity of the federal government,” he added.
Conway is just the latest administration official to find herself a target of House Democrats’ investigations. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham slammed House Democrats, accusing them of trying to “harass” the White House with their myriad probes targeting the president and his administration.
“Today, Chairman Cummings and Democrats on the House Oversight Committee continued their purely political campaign to harass the president and his close advisors,” Grisham said. “Democrats continue to overreach and politicize the Office of Special Counsel — this time, by trying to silence Kellyanne Conway with ill-founded, phony allegations about the Hatch Act."
What do you think?
Was Kellyanne Conway right to defy the subpoena?
Were the accusations against her bogus?
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