19 Mar 2024
Saturday 18 January 2020 - 14:19
Story Code : 368316

US House committee renews push for Pompeo Iran testimony, subpoena threat

Reuters - A U.S. House of Representatives committee renewed a threat on Friday to subpoena Secretary of State Mike Pompeo if he does not provide information about Iran policy and President Donald Trumps ordering of the strike that killed an Iranian military commander.

Representative Eliot Engel, the Democratic chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he scheduled a public hearing with Pompeo for Wednesday, Jan. 29.

This hearing deals with the most weighty issues with which our country and Congress deals, including the use of force. Therefore, I consider your testimony to be of extremely high importance and am prepared to use all legal means to ensure your attendance, Engel wrote to Pompeo.

Fridays announcement marked the second time the committee has tried to schedule a hearing with Pompeo this month. The first was for a hearing on Jan. 14, but Pompeo did not appear.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Members of Congress - including some of Trumps fellow Republicans - have been pushing Trumps administration for more information about the killing by a drone strike in Iraq this month of Irans Qassem Soleimani.

Criticism has grown as administration officials have offered shifting justifications for the strike. Trump fueled controversy by saying on Twitter that it doesnt really matter whether Soleimani posed an imminent threat.

Despite the start of Trumps impeachment trial, the Senate could vote as soon as next week on a resolution that could curb Trumps ability to take military action against Iran without obtaining Congress approval.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Andrea Ricci
https://theiranproject.com/vdcgq79w3ak93w4.5jra.html
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