‘CONSTITUTIONAL IMMUNITY’

White House Orders Ex-Trump Aides Rob Porter, Rick Dearborn to Defy House Subpoena

The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the men to testify at a Tuesday hearing.

Former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn and ex-Staff Secretary Rob Porter won't be testifying at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, The Associated Press reports. In a letter to the committee, White House Counsel Pat Cipollone wrote President Trump directed Dearborn and Porter to defy their subpoenas to testify due to “the constitutional immunity that protects senior advisers to the president from compelled congressional testimony, and in order to protect the prerogatives of the Office of President.” Attorneys for Dearborn and Porter have reportedly said their clients would comply with Trump's orders.

The president's former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, is the only one expected to attend the Tuesday hearing. While Lewandowski never worked in the White House, Cipollone wrote in a separate letter that Lewandowski should not reveal any of his private conversations with the president beyond what was outlined in Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report. Dearborn, Porter, and Lewandowski were initially subpoenaed to testify as a part of the committee’s probe into the Mueller’s report and to help them determine if Trump should be impeached.