WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee has approved a tentative subpoena for Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to ensure he appears at a hearing Friday.
The vote doesn’t issue a subpoena to Whitaker but allows House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler to do so if Whitaker is uncooperative. Nadler said he hopes not to have to use the subpoena, but “a series of troubling events” suggested it should be prepared. He said the committee had received reports that some at the department were counseling Whitaker not to appear.
Democrats want to talk to Whitaker because he is a close ally of President Donald Trump and has criticized special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Republicans said the vote was unnecessary because Whitaker has agreed to appear voluntarily.
