Three Democratic committee chairmen of the US House of Representatives say they've subpoenaed the White House for documents related to their impeachment investigation of President Donald Trump.
Representatives Elijah Cummings of the Oversight Committee, Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee and Eliot Engel of the Foreign Affairs Committee said they were forced to issue the subpoena after the White House failed to produce documents they requested in a 9 September letter.
US President Donald Trump. Source: AAP
"We deeply regret that President Trump has put us - and the nation - in this position, but his actions have left us with no choice but to issue this subpoena," the three chairmen said.
"The White House has refused to engage with - or even respond to - multiple requests for documents from our Committees on a voluntary basis. After nearly a month of stonewalling, it appears clear that the President has chosen the path of defiance, obstruction, and cover-up."
House Oversight and Reform Committee Chair Elijah Cummings. Source: AP
The White House was given an 18 October deadline to turn over the requested files.
The subpoena followed a broad demand earlier Friday for documents from Vice President Mike Pence.
Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump participate in an Armed Forces welcome ceremony for the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mar Source: AAP
The investigators pointed to Mr Pence's knowledge of the president’s calls to Mr Zelensky and his own meeting on 1 September with the Ukraine leader, as well as discussions he may have made with Mr Trump and US diplomats about Ukraine and obtaining political dirt on Mr Biden.
A series of text messages between US diplomats dealing with Ukraine supported Democratic accusations that Mr Trump had illegally sought foreign help for his reelection effort.
And the Wall Street Journal reported that, in an interview, Republican Senator Ron Johnson said he had learned that a quid pro quo had been proposed to Mr Zelensky's government by Trump emissaries, tying military aid to a Ukraine corruption investigation into Mr Biden.
