House impeachment investigators issue subpoena to former Wisconsin Republican leader

Daniel Bice , Mary Spicuzza | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Investigators with the U.S. House of Representatives issued subpoenas Friday as part of the impeachment inquiry to two Office of Management and Budget officials, including a former head of the Wisconsin Republican Party, first reported by the Washington Post.

But it appears that neither will testify before House members looking into whether President Donald Trump withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine as leverage to get it to open an investigation into his opponent, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

The Post reported that the three House committees leading the probe want Russell Vought, the acting director of the OMB, and Michael Duffey, the agency’s head of national security, to testify early next month.

Duffey, a politically appointed Office of Management and Budget official, was given authority by the White House to keep aid to Ukraine on hold after career budget staff members questioned the legality of delaying the funds, according to earlier reports. Duffey left the state GOP in December 2016 to join the Trump administration.

On Monday, Vought tweeted that neither official would cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry.

"OMB officials — myself and Mike Duffey — will not be complying with deposition requests this week," Vought posted. The tweet had the hashtag "#shamprocess."

I saw some Fake News over the weekend to correct. As the WH letter made clear two weeks ago, OMB officials - myself and Mike Duffey - will not be complying with deposition requests this week. #shamprocess — Russ Vought (@RussVought45) October 21, 2019

Vought followed that up by retweeting a post by Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina criticizing the process: "This is an unserious political charade. Hold a vote and do it in the open."

Duffey has been told to appear for a deposition on Nov. 5. Vought has been told to appear Nov. 6.

The subpoenas included a warning that their failure to appear “shall constitute evidence of obstruction of the House’s impeachment inquiry and may be used as an adverse inference against the President," according to the Post.

An official with the OMB pointed a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter to Vought's original tweet when contacted about the Friday subpoenas. Duffey has not responded to calls about the Ukraine investigation.

Duffey, 41, left his job with the Wisconsin Republican Party when he was named to Trump's national security team at the Pentagon. Duffey joined the administration when another prominent Wisconsin politician, Reince Priebus, was Trump's chief of staff. Priebus held that post until July 2017.

A native of Wauwatosa, Duffey held a number of high-level campaign positions in Wisconsin, including state director for John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign.

Duffey also worked in Washington, D.C., for the U.S. Department of Defense. He served as the agency's liaison to the White House for then-President George W. Bush.

In July 2015, he took over as the day-to-day manager of the state Republican Party.

Duffey is the grandson of longtime Milwaukee Braves announcer Earl Gillespie.

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

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