Democrats accuse ex-Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks of not answering questions in congressional testimony

WASHINGTON – Democratic members of Congress accused President Donald Trump's former spokeswoman Hope Hicks of pushing back on their inquiries during closed testimony Wednesday.

Hicks, Trump’s former White House communications director and campaign spokeswoman, is the first senior administration official mentioned in former special counsel Robert Mueller’s report to testify before Congress.

The House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed Hicks because of her proximity to Trump during several key episodes that Mueller’s report described as attempts to thwart the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The incidents include Trump helping draft the explanation about a Trump Tower meeting between top campaign officials and Russians, and his firing of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions and former FBI Director James Comey.

Mueller’s report found no conspiracy between Trump’s campaign and Russia, despite repeated foreign attempts to influence the election on Trump’s behalf. Mueller made no decision on whether to charge Trump with obstruction of justice despite 10 episodes of potential illegalities listed in the report.

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Former White House communications director Hope Hicks arrives for a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. (Photo: Andrew Harnik, AP)

Hicks exited the committee room shortly after noon and did not answer questions from reporters.

A number of congressional Democrats on the committee say Hicks’ appearance amounted to her not complying with the subpoena. They claim she did not answer questions about her time in the White House or the findings outlined in the Mueller report. At every turn, lawyers for the administration object to questions and claim she is immune from answering anything related to her time in the White House, Democrats said.

She did, however, answer questions about her time on the Trump campaign.

Some Democrats said the hearing only pushed them further down the path toward impeachment proceedings.

“This is an obstruction of Congress’ ability to do our job and uphold our oath. It’s unacceptable. We have to begin an inquiry soon,” said Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Tex. “They’re not even allowing her to comment on what’s in a publicly available report, the Mueller report. It’s unbelievable.”