When Democratic House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler sent letters demanding information for a host of anti-Trump investigations to 81 separate individuals, agencies and organizations associated with President Donald Trump, some supporters of the president urged them to just ignore the Democratic queries.
However, some have agreed to comply with Nadler’s demands, including Hope Hicks, formerly a senior aide and close confidante to Trump.
Hicks to cooperate with Judiciary Committee
CNN reported that Hicks — former White House communications director, senior 2016 campaign staffer and top Trump aide — has agreed to turn over relevant requested documents as part of the Judiciary Committee’s investigation into alleged obstruction of justice by the president in a number of instances.
Those instances include former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s false statements to the FBI about a phone call with a Russian ambassador during the transition, the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, the alleged hush-money payments to women extorting Trump over alleged affairs, and the president’s initial 2017 statement in regard to the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and others from the campaign with a Russian lawyer.
Specifically, the documents requested from Hicks include “any personal or work diary, journal or other book containing notes, a record or a description of daily events” related to Trump, the 2016 campaign, the Trump Organization or the office of the presidency.
Daniel Schwartz, spokesman for Nadler, told CNN that Hicks and a few other administration officials had agreed to cooperate with the committee’s request. However, Hick’s attorney declined to confirm or deny the report when asked.
Limited compliance with Nadler’s demands
Interestingly, while Hicks has reportedly agreed to cooperate directly with the committee, others who received similar demand letters from Nadler have been more reticent about cooperating. Former White House chief of staff John Kelly is reportedly interacting with the committee via the White House Counsel’s Office.
Nor is Kelly alone in holding back. CNN noted that varying reports from congressional members indicate that most of the individuals and entities targeted by Nadler declined to fully comply by the arbitrary deadline he set for Monday, March 18.
Republicans said that only around eight of the named individuals and entities had complied by the Monday deadline, while Democratic aides suggested there were more than that who had quietly agreed to cooperate in the future.
What will cooperation amount to?
Even if Hicks does cooperate with the Judiciary Committee, it is entirely unclear what, if anything, she will turn over or say to the committee that could be used by the Democrats to “get Trump.”
Hicks previously testified during a 2018 closed-door hearing with the then-Republican-controlled House Intelligence Committee, and while she had answered questions related to the 2016 and post-election transition period, she was more circumspect in answering questions about her time in the White House, and reportedly declined to answer some of the questions posed to her by Democrat committee members.
It remains to be seen what the full extent of Hicks’ reported cooperation with the House Judiciary Committee will entail, and while it remains a possibility that she will provide information that could hurt President Trump, it is just as likely that the Democratic fishing expedition into Hicks will come up empty.