HUSH HUSH

Ex-McGahn Aide & Mueller Witness Annie Donaldson Declined to Answer Over 200 of Congress’ Questions

She said the White House directed her not to answer.

A top deputy to former White House counsel Don McGahn who turned over notes to Special Counsel Robert Mueller declined to answer the House Judiciary Committee’s questions over 200 times—and said the White House told her not to. In written responses to the committee, Annie Donaldson said the questions about her time in the White House implicated “constitutionally-based executive branch confidentiality interests.” According to Politico, Donaldson was a “central witness” who provided Mueller with evidence that Trump may have obstructed justice, specifically notes she took during her time in the White House. Though she did not elaborate on what she told Mueller, she reportedly told the committee she had “no reason to dispute Mueller’s characterization of her account.”

The White House also instructed McGahn and ex-communications director Hope Hicks not to provide the committee with any substantive testimony. When Hicks testified before the committee last month, she declined to answer questions 155 times.