Rick Perry Bucks Impeachment-Happy Democrats, Will Not Testify Next Week

Despite their recent “resolution” vote passing in the House of Representatives, it appears as though the Democrats are still going to have trouble compelling Trump administration officials to testify.

For weeks, the White House had pushed back against the left’s “formal impeachment inquiry”, stating that it was illegitimate due to the fact that the House of Representatives had not yet voted to approve the rules and procedures for the probe.  Now that such a vote has taken place, Democrats naively expected everyone to cooperate.

Soon-to-be former Energy Secretary Rick Perry is proving them wrong…big time.

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, a member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet who has played a pivotal role in the Ukraine controversy, will refuse to testify as requested next week in the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against Trump, an Energy Department spokeswoman said on Friday.

Perry’s refusal represented the latest instance of Trump’s administration refusing to cooperate in the fast-moving inquiry in the House of Representatives.

Trump said on Oct. 17 that Perry was resigning from his Cabinet post and would step down by the end of the year.

Perry, White House budget office acting director Russell Vought and two other officials were asked to testify on Wednesday next week in a closed session before the three House committees leading the inquiry, an official working on the probe said.

Perry’s office blasted the impeachment process in a statement.

“The Secretary will not partake in a secret star chamber inquisition where agency counsel is forbidden to be present,” spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said in a statement, referring to Perry.

“If the committee is interested in conducting a serious proceeding they are welcome to send for the Secretary’s consideration an invitation to participate in an open hearing where the Department’s counsel can be present and the American people can witness,” Hynes said.

The Democrats have floated the possibility of using authority beyond their already formidable subpoena power to compel witnesses to come forward, including utilizing the Capitol Sergeant at Arms to arrest those who resist their requests.