White House Communications Director and presidential advisor Hope Hicks waves to reporters as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center February 27, 2018 in Washington, DC.
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President Donald Trump’s former campaign advisor and onetime White House communications director Hope Hicks will testify before the House Judiciary Committee behind closed doors next week, the committee announced Wednesday.
Hicks, who is scheduled to appear before the panel next Wednesday, was one of the first to join Trump’s 2016 campaign and served as a close advisor once he was elected. She will be the first former Trump official to testify in connection with the House committee’s investigation into allegations that the president obstructed special counsel Robert Mueller’s two-year investigation.
It is not clear if Hicks will answer the committee’s questions. The White House earlier this month directed Hicks not to turn over to Congress any documents related to her time in the administration.
“Ms. Hicks understands that the Committee will be free to pose questions as it sees fit, including about her time on the Trump Campaign and her time in the White House,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “Should there be a privilege or other objection regarding any question, we will attempt to resolve any disagreement while reserving our right to take any and all measures in response to unfounded privilege assertions.”
Robert Trout, a lawyer for Hicks, did not respond to a request for comment.
Hicks resigned her White House position in early 2018 within a week of telling a House panel that she occasionally told “white lies” for the president.
A transcript of Hicks’ testimony will be made public, the committee said.
