House Oversight and Reform Committee chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) chairs a committee meeting during which members debated issuing a subpoena to a former White House security clearance chief to respond to a whistleblower’s allegations that career officials’ decisions to deny security clearances to Donald Trump advisors were inappropriately reversed on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Democratic-led congressional committee voted on Tuesday to subpoena a former White House security clearance chief over a whistleblower’s allegations that career officials’ decisions to deny security clearances to some of President Donald Trump’s advisers were inappropriately reversed.
Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House of Representatives Overight Committee, led the push to subpoena Carl Kline, who was White House personnel security chief for the first two years of Trump’s presidency and now works for the Department of Defense.
The committee voted to approve the subpoena for Kline by a vote of 22-15 along party lines.
In a letter sent to White House counsel Pat Cipollone on Monday, Cummings said Kline had not responded to the committee’s requests that he testify voluntarily.
Cummings said the White House and Kline’s lawyer on Monday responded he would voluntarily testify but would not answer questions about specific security clearance cases or violations.
Cummings said on Tuesday these conditions were unacceptable.
Reporting by Mark Hosenball; editing by Jonathan Oatis
Source : Denver Post
