On a day when another Trump Administration official refused to follow the directive of the President to not cooperate with a U.S. House impeachment investigation, President Donald Trump's personal lawyer told Democrats that he would heed Mr. Trump's call, and refuse to turn over documents and other information to Congress.
"Mr. Giuliani will not participate because this appears to be an unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate 'impeachment inquiry,'" wrote Giuliani's own counsel, John Sale.
Those words echoed a missive from the White House last week, in which the President's White House Counsel declared that the Executive Branch would not cooperate with the House impeachment investigation.
"In addition, the subpoena is overbroad, unduly burdensome, and seeks documents beyond the scope of legitimate inquiry," the Giuliani letter continued, as Democrats look for more information on what Giuliani was doing in Ukraine in recent months.
Democrats had asked for 'text messages, phone records, and other communications' about his work in Ukraine in a September 30 letter which set Monday as the deadline to produce information.
"He’s solely focused on obstructing the Impeachment Inquiry," tweeted Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) about President Trump.
"The White House has engaged in stonewalling and outright defiance of Congressional prerogatives," said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer.
Republicans meanwhile complained that Democrats were running an unfair investigation, echoing attacks from the White House.
"The American people are not participants in this process," said Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX), as Republicans said a series of closed door depositions should be made public.
As lawmakers in Congress returned from a two week break, some Republicans were reminded of their past statements about figures who refused to honor subpoenas during investigations.
Meanwhile, as questioning continued behind closed doors for another State Department witness, an interesting break was developing in this investigation - while high profile witnesses like Giuliani were defying subpoenas, former Trump Administration and State Department officials were not.
On Tuesday, George Kent, a State Department official who specializes in Ukraine policy was answering questions, even though he had been directed not to answer any.
Wednesday is expected to bring testimony from a former top aide to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Michael McKinley abruptly resigned from his State Department post earlier this month.
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