Today we have scheduled depositions where the top lawyer from the National Security counc chair schiff good morning. Today, we had additional scheduled depositions with the top lawyer for the natnal security council, as well as mr. Blair from the office of management and budget. Mulvaneyf them defied congressional subpoenas and refused to appear for scheduled depositions as has been the case with other witnesses who have done the same thing. This will be further evidence of an effort by the administration to obstruct the lawful and constitutional duties of congress. We expect the witnesses who have been subpoenaed also to be noshows. This will only further add to the body of evidence on a potential of obstruction of congress charge against the president. Indeed with the nixon impeachment there was an article based on the obstruction of congress that itemize each of the subpoenas that the white house had defied. Today we have four additional subpoenas to add to the list with a potential charge involving the president of the United States and his obstruction of our constitutional duties. These witnesses understand they are significant based on testimony the committee has already received we know they were in the law office of the National Security council those that worked for mulvaney in omb are firsthand witnesses to serious misconduct through the suspension of military aid and the effort to use that aid as a lever to get ukraine to do these investigations with a reelection campaign. But also in an effort to hide the evidence of the president s misconduct by placing that record in a classified system that would be beyond most individuals access in the system the record did not belong. Very pertinent testimony and relevant to the other witnesses that have come forward and we may be inferring by white house instruction and the testimony is further incriminating to the president. It is quite off 81 obvious a series of shifting and everchanging rationales. First there was the argument we will not comply we dont have to comply until there is a formal vote. We do we dont have to make use of witnesses available because they are senior officials given absolute immunity even though no court has upheld that involving there is no such thing as absolute immunity and uniform position of republicans and democrats that we do not respect any claims of absolute immunity. But then when people were subpoenaed with little or no action of the president now the explanation shifted we will not what them come forward because we dont have agency lawyers present. Again that led violate the house deposition rules and also the practice use by both republicans and Democrats Use in the past and there are concerns agency lawyers are representing agencies that they have been engaged in wrongdoing or may use facts gained in the investigation to prejudice other witnesses this was the practice for the current members of the people like mom pompeo and Nick Mulvaney all participated in depositions of Senior Agency officials without presence of counsel if they joined the president s objections they do so in a fashion that is directly contradictory from their practices in the majority. Today we also begin a process to release transcripts of our depositions of ambassador mckinley and i will leave you all to review those transcripts some things are clear and contrary to the claims of the president and his acolytes on the hill that this is what republicans could not be present or asked questions in fact they were present for all of the depositions and they had equal opportunity to ask questions and you will see they took full advantage of those opportunitie opportunities. You will see with the ambassadors testimony what a dedicated Public Servant she is. Someone who served the country for decades. Someone who was also one of the first witnesses to this irregular back channel the president established with Rudy Giuliani and the damage it was doing to americas National Security and Foreign Policy interest. How it was working in opposition not in support of the us policy objectives. Ambassador had a well earned repute tatian as a fighter of corruption in working with ukraine to get ukraine to fight corruption so what does this irregular back channel do . To remove someone fighting corruption in ukraine. To employ a Vicious Smear Campaign that the state department at the highest levels had no merit whatsoever. That Smear Campaign orchestrated by this irregular channel was successful to remove a Us Ambassador and hard her reputation you can see the president s comments about the ambassador in the call record. We also release the testimony today of ambassador mckinley and other career Public Servant to come back and assist the state department at a very difficult time for the department. What is so striking about his testimony to the degree he got them to issue the support for its own ambassador and how those repeated efforts were rebuffed and then you also see reading the transcript the growing alarm to the degree the apparatus of the state department itself was being used to seek political information for a political purpose by the president of the United States and others. You can see that this is what caused the career Public Servant to decide he must resign his office as he did. We will be releasing further transcripts tomorrow of ambassador voelker. And we will continue to release them in an orderly way. We continue to allow the opportunity to review the transcripts and actions with private information but we will continue and although i cannot give you a timetable to open hearings as well and now i can respond to a couple questions. [inaudible] we will not delay the vote. That would unfairly allow the white house to succeed with their issues to do and delay and deny and obstruct. The lawsuit i think is on its face without merit just avoiding the subpoena i think it will undoubtedly the lawsuit will be dismissed but the whole point is to delay. I would say this to those that would use litigation like the white house for purposes of delay to avoid their duty which is to follow congressional subpoena. They should follow the example of the courageous people who work for the doctor or john bolton were in their careers much more at risk have shown the courage to come forward. They have not hidden behind the litigation of the white house avenue the Witnesses Today have. They have shown to follow their example and not the corrupt example which is seeking to obstruct. [inaudible] it is a consistent house rule we do not permit agency have counsel if we have concern about those agencies. The state department for example you will see in the transcript that state Department Representatives made that claim to their employees they were being bullied by congress and they were concerned about being bullied by their own state department and that was misrepresented to congress. These are the same Agency Personnel they want to bring in to sit on the deposition but these are decisions the chairs are making trey gowdy and the benghazi investigation and Nick Mulvaney made and the uniform policy practice of the house. I just want to make a record of comment for the hearings but and then try to provide testimony in an orderly way the American People can understand and the facts at the heart of this investigation. And then defied off russians of the National Security interest and their interest as well to hold military support with the president of that nation as a leverage to get them in the corrupt act to help the reelection campaign. Also looking at allegations there is an effort to cover up these activities. Talking about the transcript. [inaudible] and john bolton with the National Security advisor crack. As we voice the transcripts and in those discussions to find out what his role was. And then to belong in a classified system with those covert action activities why would a call record that they believed was perfect in the system . They do not want the American People to pick why they made that decision. But the reason they dont want is because i would corroborate allegations. And then to engage in the lawless act about the impeachment inquiry. House oversight jim jordan also spoke to reporters on capitol hill about the impeachment inquiry. He maintains President Trump has done nothing wrong and that the transcript of the closeddoor depositions will confirm this. Here are his remarks. In the lawless act spent the first trends transcript because ambassador that he be the first to testify we have inclined up for several weeks but they were just released today not having much to do with the underlying issue. And what the democrats are doing and the amb