WASHINGTON--Hope Hicks, formerly one of President Donald Trump's closest aides, repeatedly declined to answer questions on Wednesday in an interview with U.S. congressional investigators, with lawyers at her side carefully orchestrating her responses.
Democrats said Hicks' responses during the eight-hour session to questions from members of the House Judiciary Committee, who want to determine whether her former boss broke the law, were restricted to the point of absurdity.
Democratic Representative Ted Lieu posted on Twitter what he called a sample exchange, with the questions modified because the content of the interview was private. Lieu's tweet said:
"Chair: Ms. Hicks, was it a sunny day on your first day of work?
"Ridiculous DOJ Attorney: OBJECTION!
"Chair: Where was your office located?
"Ridiculous DOJ Attorney: OBJECTION!"
House of Representatives Democrats and Trump have been fighting a running battle for months over their power to investigate him, with aspects of it spilling into the courts. Hicks' appearance was hailed by Democrats as a breakthrough for the Judiciary Committee's broad inquiry into Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election to help Trump, and Trump's attempts to impede the probe.
Republicans who attended the interview, arranged and led by the majority-Democratic panel, said it yielded little or no new information, and they accused Democrats of political harassment of Trump, a criticism that Republicans have long voiced. "It appears to be Democrats trying to relitigate the Mueller report," said Republican Representative Matt Gaetz.
Democrats wanted to ask Hicks, 30, about six instances in which they believe Trump may have obstructed justice during the 2016 campaign and while in the White House. White House lawyers argued that Hicks was "immune" from having to testify about her 14 months in the White House, a strategy in line with Trump's general refusal to cooperate with investigations in the Democratic-led House.
Hicks was directed not to answer questions about material she had already told Mueller, the lawmakers said. Democrat Steve Cohen said he learned nothing new from Hicks and added that she did not answer a single question about her time in the While House.
Lieu said Hicks did answer questions about the campaign, but he did not elaborate.
