Top impeachment investigator says Pentagon was ordered to not comply with subpoena

WASHINGTON — The White House has ordered the Defense Department to not comply with a subpoena for documents related to an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, according to the House’s lead investigator of the probe.

In response, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said the White House decision means “the case for obstruction of Congress continues to build.”

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By Robert Burns, The Associated Press, Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press and Andrew Taylor, The Associated Press

Schiff also said Defense Secretary Mark Esper told investigators Sunday that he would comply with a subpoena request, only to be “countermanded” by a higher authority.

Trump has said that without a vote, the ongoing impeachment inquiry is “illegitimate.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters Tuesday that she’s not going to call for a formal House vote on impeachment.

“We’re not here to call bluffs,” she said. “This is not a game to us.”

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