Charles Kupperman filed suit in October after he was subpoenaed by the House Intelligence Committee.
A federal judge on Monday scrapped an effort by a former top aide to John Bolton to determine whether he could be required to testify before House impeachment investigators, declaring the matter moot and outside the court’s power to resolve.
Charles Kupperman, who was Bolton’s deputy when Bolton was national security adviser, filed suit in October after he was subpoenaed by the House Intelligence Committee but ordered to ignore the subpoena by President Donald Trump. In his suit, Kupperman asked for a judge’s help to resolve the conflicting demands.
The matter was put before Judge Richard Leon, a federal judge in the D.C. District Court. But before Leon could weigh in, the House withdrew its subpoena for Kupperman’s testimony, declaring it a transparent effort to stonewall the impeachment investigation and mire it in months of legal delays. Both the House and the White House asked Leon to dismiss the case, and Leon ultimately agreed.
“[The Intelligence Committee] has withdrawn Kupperman’s subpoena … As a result, Kupperman no longer faces the ‘irreconcilable commands’ of two coordinate branches of government,” Leon wrote in a 14-page ruling, “and he accordingly lacks any personal stake in the outcome of this dispute. Thus, it would appear that this case is moot and should be dismissed.”
Kupperman had pressed for a ruling despite the subpoena withdrawal, arguing that the House could reissue it at any time or punish him by holding him in contempt of Congress. But Leon cited repeated assurances by the House that it would do no such thing, as well as a guarantee by the Justice Department that it would not prosecute Kupperman for refusing to comply with the subpoena. Leon also noted that the House issued its final impeachment report in December, underscoring its lack of interest in pursuing Kupperman’s testimony.
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A federal judge scrapped an effort by a former top aide to John Bolton to determine whether he could be required to testify to House impeachment investigators, declaring the matter moot and outside the court’s power to resolve https://t.co/jYJjBxQKfI
— POLITICO (@politico) December 30, 2019
Well, John Bolton is all out of excuses. https://t.co/BWNZKaSVkF
— Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) December 30, 2019
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