House committees subpoena Giuliani for documents in Ukraine probe

WASHINGTON - Three House committees issued a subpoena Monday to President Donald Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, demanding he turn over all records pertaining to his contacts regarding Ukraine, the Biden family, and related matters.

In a letter to Giuliani accompanying the subpoena, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., cited “a growing public record” of information in accusing him of appearing “to have pressed the Ukrainian government to pursue two politically-motivated investigations.”

"The first is a prosecution of Ukrainians who provided evidence against Mr. Trump's convicted campaign chairman, Paul Manafort. The second relates to former vice president Joseph R. Biden, Jr., who is challenging President Trump for the presidency in 2020," the letter continued, demanding Giuliani turn over materials to their investigation by October 15.

The chairmen also said they are investigating "credible allegations" that Giuliani "acted as an agent of the president in a scheme to advance his personal political interests by abusing the power of the office of the president."

Giuliani did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In an interview Friday night, Giuliani said he had heard he was likely to be subpoenaed but had not received anything. Giuliani said he would follow his client's advice on whether to cooperate and saw both the pros and cons of going forward.

"It would give me a chance to explain what was really happening," he said.

Giuliani recently told The Washington Post in an interview that he possessed communications with State Department officials about his effort. "I have 40 texts from the State Department asking me to do what I did."

A senior administration official confirmed that a State Department official, Kurt Volker, was involved in setting up one meeting for Giuliani with a top Ukrainian aide. But this person said the department was unaware of many of his other meetings and activities.