The White House has instructed former officials Hope Hicks Hope Charlotte HicksSenate intel leaders said Trump associates may have presented misleading testimony during Russia probe: report Cuomo turned down Trump invitation to participate in April press briefing: report Trump shakes up White House communications team MORE and Annie Donaldson not to turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee that relate to their work in the administration.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.) had subpoenaed the two on May 21, setting a deadline of 10 a.m. on June 4 for them to produce documents and demanding they provide testimony — Hicks in a public appearance on June 19 and Donaldson in a closed-door deposition June 24.

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CNN first reported the White House had instructed them not to turn over documents stemming from their time in the Trump administration sought by the subpoena. A committee source confirmed the development to The Hill.

Nadler said later in a statement that the move was evidence of President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE’s “continued obstruction” of congressional investigations.

"The White House has instructed both Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson not to turn over records in response to subpoenas issued by our Committee last month,” Nadler said. "The President has no lawful basis for preventing these witnesses from complying with our request.”

Republicans pushed back against that characterization.

White House counsel Pat Cipollone in a Tuesday letter argued that the records sought by Democrats remain under White House control.

“Those documents include White House records that remain legally protected from disclosure under longstanding constitutional principles, because they implicate significant Executive Branch confidentiality interests and executive privilege," Cipollone wrote to Nadler, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Hill. "Because Ms. Talley [Donaldson] and Ms. Hicks do not have the legal right to disclose the White House records to third parties, I would ask that the Committee direct any request for such records to the White House, the appropriate legal custodian."

Nadler said Hicks has provided some documents to the committee related to her time on the Trump campaign. And he argued the president, under federal law, can't assert executive privilege over documents that have left the White House.

Democrats view both former White House officials as key witnesses as they look to further investigate Trump’s conduct.

Nadler is pressing for specific documents — including Hicks’s diary and Donaldson’s notes that she kept while working under McGahn — in what appears to be an effort to obtain records that detail the day-to-day events within the administration.

Hicks’ attorney Bob Trout wrote to Nadler Tuesday that his client would “respectfully decline” to provide documents from her time on the presidential transition or in the White House on instructions from the Trump administration.

Hicks provided a disk of documents related to her work on the campaign, according to Trout’s letter, which was obtained by The Hill. “We have redacted from these documents personal identifying information such as private email addresses and phone numbers,” the letter states. “This disc does not include any documents that we already provided to the Committee on March, 22, 2019.” Trout also wrote that Hicks would not provide the committee with documents her lawyer received from the Trump campaign for the purpose of preparing for interviews with congressional committees and Mueller’s office, but said some documents responsive to the subpoena had already been provided to the House Intelligence Committee. The White House has already blocked a number of requests Nadler has issued as part of his panel’s sweeping investigation into allegations of obstruction, public corruption and other abuses of power by Trump and his associates.

Trump successfully instructed McGahn not to appear before the committee for public testimony last month, citing a Justice Department legal opinion arguing he is immune from compelled congressional testimony. The committee had subpoenaed McGahn for documents and testimony and threatened to hold him in contempt for failing to comply.

The White House also rejected the Judiciary panel’s sweeping request for documents, accusing the panel of attempting a “do-over” of Mueller’s investigation and suggesting Nadler narrow the scope of the request.

In an effort to push forward with his investigation and get around an uncooperative White House, Nadler announced on Monday a series of hearings on Mueller’s report that will call in witnesses to testify about the president’s conduct. The first one will feature former White House counsel John Dean on June 10.

Updated: 1:38 p.m.