Washington (CNN) House Oversight Committee Chair Elijah Cummings is postponing holding a former White House official in contempt in the committee's review of the Trump administration's security clearance process.

Former official Carl Kline will instead appear before the committee for a transcribed interview on Wednesday after he did not comply with a subpoena for a deposition.

"I am confident that the Committee could move forward with contempt against you immediately, particularly since your defiance of the Committee's subpoena was so flagrant," the Maryland Democrat wrote in a letter to Kline Saturday. "However, I have always endeavored to be as fair as possible in the pursuit of truth, particularly with witnesses who are willing to come before the Committee."

The White House on Monday had instructed Kline, who now works at the Defense Department, to defy a committee subpoena because Cummings would not allow a White House attorney to attend Kline's deposition, citing committee rules.

Kline's personal counsel and attorneys from the White House Counsel's office will now be permitted to attend the interview.

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