Trump administration officials subpoenaed for depositions in impeachment inquiry

U.S. House Democrats on Friday subpoenaed three administration officials for depositions as part of their impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in Washington. [File Photo: IC]

The subpoenas were issued to acting Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought, OMB's Associate Director of National Security Programs Michael Duffey, and State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl, according to a press release of the House Intelligence Committee.

The subpoenas called for Duffey to appear on Nov. 5 and Vought and Brechbuhl to testify on Nov. 6.

"This deposition will be conducted jointly by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform," according to a letter co-signed by chairs of the three panels.

The impeachment inquiry that Trump is facing was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month after an anonymous whistleblower raised concern about the president's interactions with Ukraine.

The whistleblower and Democrats pushing for the impeachment inquiry allege that Trump abused power by using a Congress-approved military aid to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating Joe Biden, former U.S. vice president and front-running Democratic presidential candidate for the 2020 election so as to help his own political campaign.

The White House has said they will not provide documents or witnesses to impeachment investigators because it considers their investigation to be unfair and illegitimate.

Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has urged more efforts from Republicans to defend him and challenge the impeachment inquiry.