House Dems, White House spar in Hicks interview
WASHINGTON » Former top White House adviser Hope Hicks was blocked by President Donald Trump’s lawyers from answering questions more than 150 times in an interview with the House Judiciary Committee, according to Democrats who released a 273-page transcript Thursday.
Hicks refused to answer any questions related to her time working for President Donald Trump after he was elected, following orders from White House lawyers. Administration lawyers even blocked a question about where Hicks’ desk was located in the White House — but eventually allowed her to answer a question about the weather on her first day of working for Trump.
The transcript of Wednesday’s interview is a preview of a court battle that Democrats have said is certain. The White House declared that Hicks was “absolutely immune” from discussing her time working at the White House because of separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches.
During the interview, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., told White House lawyers who blocked Hicks from answering questions that the immunity assertion is “absolute nonsense as a matter of law.”
Later, he told the lawyers, after one of the objections: “I think we’ll win in court on that one, but there’s no point in wasting time on that now.”
Hicks did answer questions about her time before and after she worked in the White House. But over and over, she declined to answer questions about her work for the president, with the lawyers declaring, “objection.”
“As a former senior adviser to the president, I’m following the instructions from the White House,” she replied. The interview frustrated Democrats who hoped to get more information about several episodes that special counsel Robert Mueller reviewed for obstruction of justice.
Hicks was a key witness for Mueller, delivering information to the special counsel’s office about multiple episodes involving the president.