WASHINGTON — The triad of House committees leading the impeachment inquiry unleashed another round of subpoenas on Friday, demanding that three more administration officials — including the acting head of the White House budget office — testify as part of their investigation into President Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine. Mr. Vought and Mr. Duffey both played roles in freezing the aid, and investigators are eager to question them on how Mr. Trump asked for the freeze and why. The issue is at the center of the impeachment inquiry, which is investigating whether Mr. Trump abused his power to pressure President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to incriminate Mr. Trump’s political rivals. All three of the officials were asked to appear in early November, suggesting that Democrats intend to continue the private phase of their investigation for several more weeks before convening public hearings. Mr. Brechbuhl is a close ally of Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, and it is unclear if he will join other State Department officials in defying White House orders to ignore subpoenas and appear before the committee.

Source: New York Times October 25, 2019 19:33 UTC