Former White House counsel ordered to testify in impeachment probe

Former White House Counsel Donald McGahn was ordered by a judge to appear before a congressional committee probing possible obstruction of justice by Donald Trump (pictured) — a ruling that could deepen the president’s political peril amid an impeachment inquiry launched by House Democrats.

Trump claims McGahn is covered by broad presidential immunity and ordered the lawyer to spurn the committee’s subpoena in May, weeks after the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 US election. Lawmakers sought McGahn’s testimony to help determine whether Trump had tried to obstruct the Mueller probe.

The ruling Monday by US District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson in Washington is likely to be used by Democrats seeking to compel other administration officials who have refused to testify in various probes, including impeachment, from Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney.