“The committee intends to hold hearings and obtain testimony over the coming months as part of its efforts to hold the president accountable as we move forward with our investigation into obstruction, corruption and abuse of power by Trump and his associates,” said Nadler. “This will help the committee determine whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the president or other Article 1 remedies. No one is above the law.”

AD

The committee’s summons to Porter comes as it plans to continue laying out a case that Trump obstructed justice. The Judiciary Committee, which has impeachment jurisdiction, is considering whether to draft articles of impeachment against the president in the fall as 133 House Democrats have called for starting proceedings to oust the president.

AD

On Monday, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, an Illinois Democrat who sits on two panels investigating the president, became the latest to join the call for impeachment.

“I come to this conclusion with a heavy heart, and it is not a conclusion I relish or desire, but if the 'rule of law' is to have any meaning in this country, it is the only appropriate course of action,” Krishnamoorthi said in a statement.

AD

Public sentiment, however, has not changed on questions of ousting Trump: Polls continue to show that a majority of voters do not want the House to impeach the president. And it’s unclear that Judiciary’s attempt to question Porter — one of several former Trump officials the panel wants to appear before it in September — will do anything to change those numbers.

Just as the White House has blocked numerous former Trump officials from testifying about their time working in the administration, the White House is expected to block Porter — a move once again depriving Democrats of a blockbuster hearing that could move public sentiment.

AD

Judiciary panel members and staff argue that they have already begun impeachment proceedings, though no official vote has occurred on the matter. Democratic leaders under House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) continue to oppose impeaching Trump.

AD

Politico first reported the news of the Porter subpoena.

Porter, the former White House staff secretary who left amid allegations of domestic violence in previous relationships, was a central witness in former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation. He saw Trump lash out at former White House counsel Donald McGahn for not firing Mueller, according to the special counsel report.

Trump also asked Porter to try to get McGahn to create a false record saying Trump never asked him to fire the special counsel. And he tried to get Porter to find a way to have a particular Justice Department official he seemed to prefer to oversee the Mueller probe after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself, according to the report.