The House Oversight and Reform Committee has voted to subpoena White House counselor Kellyanne Conway after she did not voluntarily appear to testify at a hearing on a government watchdog's findings that she broke the law, media outlets reported.
The committee voted 25-16 to compel Conway's testimony. The Wednesday hearing was called to address a report from Special Counsel Henry Kerner saying Conway violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from engaging in politics during work, The Washington Post reported.
On Monday, White House lawyers rejected the committee's request for Conway's testimony, citing "long-standing precedent" of presidential advisers declining to testify before Congress.
House Democrats, however, criticized the White House for blocking Conway's testimony.
"There are rarely issues that come before our committee that are so clear-cut, but this is one of them," said committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.). "This is about right and wrong. This is about the core principle of our precious democracy, that nobody, not one person, nobody in this country is above the law."
Conway addressed the allegations during a Fox News appearance on Monday.
“You know what they’re mad about?” Conway said. “They want to put a big roll of masking tape over my mouth because I helped as a campaign manager for the successful part of the campaign . . . So they want to chill free speech because they don’t know how to beat [Trump] at the ballot box.”
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
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