The Trump Impeachment Inquiry: Latest Updates

Charles M. Kupperman, the former deputy national security adviser and one of Mr. Trump’s “closest confidential” advisers, notified lawmakers through his lawyer on Sunday that he would not appear to testify, despite a subpoena. Mr. Kupperman’s lawyer said that he was following orders from Mr. Trump.

“It is President Trump, and every president before him for at least the last half century, who have asserted testimonial immunity for their closest confidential advisers,” Mr. Kupperman’s lawyer, Charles J. Cooper, wrote.

On Friday, Mr. Kupperman took the unusual step of filing a lawsuit and asking a federal judge to rule on his appearance.

The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam B. Schiff and two other lawmakers leading the investigation, warned Mr. Kupperman’s lawyer that failing to appear could expose Mr. Trump to more charges of obstruction of Congress.

On Monday, Mr. Schiff said that Democrats would not take the time to pursue the matter in court. Instead, he said, they would assume that if Mr. Kupperman had testified, he would have confirmed details of their case against the president, and would press forward without him. He left open the possibility that the former official could be held in contempt of Congress.

Nicholas Fandos

A familiar impeachment witness was spotted in the Capitol Monday morning descending into the basement chambers of the House Intelligence Committee with a mild smile.

Gordon D. Sondland, the United States ambassador to the European Union, returned to review a transcript of his deposition with impeachment investigators earlier this month, according to an official familiar with the investigation. Witness testimony has placed Mr. Sondland at the center of efforts by Mr. Trump and his private lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, to pressure Ukraine to investigate the president’s political rivals.

But Mr. Sondland’s own answers to investigators have come under scrutiny in recent days after William B. Taylor Jr., the top American diplomat in Ukraine, testified last week that he learned from Mr. Sondland that security aid for Ukraine and an Oval Office meeting between Mr. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine were both contingent on the Ukrainians announcing that they would investigate matters that would benefit Mr. Trump politically. That account appeared to go much farther than Mr. Sondland had in his own account, and over the weekend, his lawyer indicated the ambassador was willing to return for additional questioning if requested.

— Nicholas Fandos

Investigators have been rapidly building their case against the president in back-to-back depositions with administration witnesses who have appeared in spite of the White House edict not to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry. But the closer they get to Mr. Trump, the more complicated their work becomes. Democratic lawmakers are trying to secure testimony from advisers who had more interactions with the president — witnesses who are, by definition, more easily blocked from testifying to Congress.

The House’s ability to hear from these witnesses will affect how quickly their investigation concludes, and the quantity of evidence they are able to collect. While many Democrats believe they have more than enough evidence already to impeach Mr. Trump, they are keenly aware it could take even more to persuade Republicans and the American public to remove him from office.

Still, Mr. Schiff indicated on Monday that he is determined not to allow the impeachment inquiry to stall amid a prolonged legal fight to secure cooperation from crucial witnesses.

“We are not willing to let the White House engage us in a lengthy game of rope-a-dope in the courts, so we press ahead,” Mr. Schiff said.

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