Charles Kupperman, a deputy to John Bolton when he was President Trump’s national security adviser, filed suit after the House subpoenaed him in October as part of its impeachment investigation, asking a federal court to decide if he should comply with the subpoena or follow the White House directive that he refuse to testify. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon dismissed the lawsuit on Monday, noting that the House had withdrawn its subpoena and said it won’t reissue it, and the Justice Department said it wouldn’t prosecute him for defying the subpoena in any case. House and Justice Department lawyers had asked Leon to dismiss the lawsuit.
“The House clearly has no intention of pursuing Kupperman, and his claims are thus moot,” Leon wrote in his 14-page ruling. Kupperman’s continued pursuit of a legal answer to his twin directives was widely seen as a proxy for Bolton, who shares a lawyer with his former deputy. Bolton said he would not testify without a subpoena, and the House did not issue one for him.
Both Kupperman and Bolton have been described by people who did testify as key witnesses of Trump’s pressure campaign against Ukraine and decision to withhold appropriated military aid. House Democrats flagged Kupperman’s refusal to testify as more proof of Trump’s obstruction of Congress and declined to get bogged down in a long legal fight.
Senate Democrats have requested that Bolton testify under oath at Trump’s Senate impeachment trial, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has all but ruled out witnesses at the trial. Bolton had used the lawsuit’s existence as reason to avoid talking about Trump’s Ukraine dealings, though he has hinted he has things to tell.
