Judge orders ex-White House counsel to testify to Congress

WASHINGTON — A federal judge has ordered former White House counsel Donald McGahn to appear before Congress in a setback to President Donald Trump’s effort to keep his top aides from testifying.

The outcome could lead to renewed efforts by House Democrats to compel testimony from other high-ranking officials, including former national security adviser John Bolton.

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson ruled Monday in a lawsuit filed by the House Judiciary Committee.

McGahn was a star witness in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, and Democrats wanted to question McGahn about possible obstruction of justice by Trump. That was months before the House started an impeachment inquiry into Trump’s effort to get Ukraine to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden.

The administration will appeal Jackson’s ruling and seek to put it on hold in the meantime, Justice Department spokesman Kerri Kupec said. William Burck, an attorney for McGahn, said the former White House counsel will comply with the subpoena, absent a court-imposed stay.