Pompeo: State Dept. will follow law in impeachment inquiry
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Saturday the State Department intends to "follow the law" in the House impeachment investigation and vigorously defended President Donald Trump, dismissing questions about the president's attempts to push Ukraine and China to investigate a Democratic political rival.
The Trump administration and House Democrats often disagree about what the law requires, leaving open the question of how Pompeo may interpret Democrats' demands for key information about Trump's handling of Ukraine.
Pompeo, speaking in Greece, said the State Department sent a letter to Congress Friday night as its initial response to the document request and added, "We'll obviously do all the things that we're required to do by law." He has allowed Democrats to interview a series of witnesses next week.
The administration has struggled to come up with a unified response to the quickly progressing investigation. Democrats have warned that defying their demands will in itself be considered "evidence of obstruction" and a potentially impeachable offense.
Pompeo has become a key figure in the Democrats' investigation. He was on the line during the July phone call in which Trump pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter — sparking a whistleblower complaint and now the impeachment inquiry.
Pompeo had initially tried to delay a handful of current and former officials from cooperating with the inquiry and accused Democrats trying to "bully" his staffers.
On Saturday, Pompeo did not back off his defense of Trump's call with Ukraine.
"There has been some suggestion somehow that it would be inappropriate for the United States government to engage in that activity and I see it just...