The mood on Capitol Hill

I spoke with my colleague Nick Fandos, who’s been covering the impeachment inquiry, about what we know about subpoenas and the mysterious documents that Mr. Linick, the State Department inspector general, took to Capitol Hill. (First he had to hang up, speak with another reporter, and call me back — this story is busy!)

What was Elijah Cummings actually saying when he threatened the White House with subpoenas?

What Mr. Cummings is essentially telling the White House is this: Either you hand over anything and everything related to this Ukraine matter, possibly helping our case against the president, or you refuse and your refusal to comply with this inquiry will be used to build a separate article of impeachment around obstruction of Congress.

There was so much anticipation about what the inspector general had to say, and you knew little until this evening. What’s the best way to wait for news these days as so much is happening?

It becomes a lot about reading body language and understanding maneuvers before they happen. This isn’t like the Mueller report that arrived fully formed, and now Congress has to decide what to do with it. Congress is both trying to uncover the story and decide what to do about it at the same time.

What did it feel like in the Capitol today?

There are almost no lawmakers around, but there are almost as many reporters as I’ve ever seen up here, chasing after the same spare bits of information. The No. 1 objective is not getting hit by TV cameramen running around with large machinery that can knock you over.

What happens next

A reader wrote in to ask what Congress can do if it the White House blatantly ignores its subpoenas. I asked my colleague Charlie Savage, who has written about exactly that issue, and he sent this just as he was getting on the Washington Metro this evening:

“Mr. Cummings will clearly issue the subpoena he is threatening, but because he is seeking internal White House communications, the Trump administration is virtually certain to claim they are protected by executive privilege. If the House filed a lawsuit for the documents, it will join a long list of disputes that are slowly winding their way through the judicial system. It is not likely, therefore, that Congress will obtain these files anytime soon, if ever.”