On Tuesday evening, former White House staffer Hope Hicks agreed that she would cooperate with a portion of a congressional subpoena and hand over some of the documents it demanded. It may seem an almost shocking development—someone from the Trump White House following the law! Film at 11!—but the action is a good deal less defiant than some sources have indicated.
Reuters reports that the documents that Hicks has agreed to turn over don’t have to do with her time either at the White House or on the transition team. Documents from those periods were the subject of a letter sent by the White House to both Hicks and former White House attorney Annie Donaldson. Hicks and Donaldson were ordered not to turn over documents from those periods because Trump is once again claiming that he might exert executive privilege—a ridiculous position that should have been tested in court long before now. Privilege is either claimed or it isn’t, but Trump has been getting all of the benefits of privilege without any of the risks.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler thanked Hicks for following at least one part of the subpoena, though he also complained about Trump’s continued obstruction of Congress. And just because Hopes coughed up a single CD of campaign docs doesn’t mean that she and Donaldson aren’t still on the road to contempt charges.
“When we ask for documents to be turned over, we expect all of the documents to be turned over. We’re the Congress of the United States,” said Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin.
Whether Hicks will testify remains unclear.