It’s Hope Hicks’ time in the barrel

| 4:17 pm EDT May 21, 2019
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Donald Trump has found some kind of corrupt and illegal way to convince former White House Counsel Don McGahn not to testify before Congress, which will only serve to speed up the impeachment process against Trump, while ripping McGahn’s life apart. But even as that process plays out, the House Judiciary Committee is moving on to a pair of key witnesses who might prove more valuable than McGahn.

Just now, several major news outlets reported that the House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed former Trump White House adviser Hope Hicks, and Don McGahn’s former deputy Annie Donaldson, to publicly testify. This is a big deal, because they both had a front row seat to Donald Trump’s felony obstruction of justice. In fact Hicks announced her resignation just one day after she privately testified about Trump’s obstruction. Now she’s being brought back to testify publicly.

We’ll see if Hope Hicks – who was by all accounts Trump’s closest political adviser for a long stretch of his time in the White House – is willing to publicly sell him out in front of the television cameras. If she declines to show up, she’ll be held in contempt. Donaldson may be even more intriguing as a witness, because she reportedly took notes on Trump’s obstruction in order to protect herself legally. Unless Trump has some kind of unknown corrupt leverage over Donaldson, we’d expect she’ll show up.

In any case, House Democrats are now moving forward on parallel paths to expose Donald Trump’s criminal scandals. In addition to whatever happens with impeachment, and whatever happens to McGahn, we’re apparently about to hear from two witnesses who can light Donald Trump’s presidency on fire just as effectively.