A Democratic member of the House Appropriations Committee has threatened to withhold executive branch pay over the canceled testimony of a United States diplomat amid the House’s ongoing impeachment efforts.
Tuesday morning, President Donald Trump said that U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland would not appear at a planned deposition that was part of House Democrats’ ongoing impeachment efforts because he didn’t want the official to be subject to a “compromised kangaroo court.”
That afternoon, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claiming that the White House’s decision violated federal law passed earlier this year and that whomever was responsible for it could have their pay withheld.
In the letter, Pocan sited a section of federal appropriations law passed in February that prohibits paying the salary of any “officer or employee of the Federal Government who prohibits or prevents … any other officer or employee of the Federal Government from … communication or contact with any Member, committee, or subcommittee of the Congress.” – READ MORE