Trump administration pushes back against impeachment probe

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday pushed back hard against an impeachment investigation of the Republican leader, accusing the Democrats of bullying and intimidation in asking five of their fellows to testify on White House efforts to seek dirt on a political rival.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo questioned the authority of three House committees conducting the impeachment probe to summon testimony from the diplomats and said they would not appear to testify in the coming week as requested.

Pompeo also challenged the Democrat-led committees' right to demand documents from them and suggested the administration was prepared to take the fight to court.

The committees' request "can be understood only as an attempt to intimidate, bully and treat improperly the distinguished professionals of the Department of State", Pompeo said in a letter to Congress.

"I will not tolerate such tactics, and I will use all means at my disposal to prevent and expose any attempts to intimidate the dedicated professionals whom I am proud to lead."

Pompeo's push-back came after Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, suggested he might not comply with a subpoena issued Monday by the three committees.

They want the former New York mayor to produce documents related to his efforts on Trump's behalf to pressure Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to provide dirt on Trump's potential 2020 election rival, Democrat Joe Biden.

Giuliani alleged that the heads of the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, and Oversight Committees had "prejudged" the case.

"It raises significant issues concerning legitimacy and constitutional and legal issues including, inter alia, attorney client and other privileges. It will be given appropriate consideration," he said of the subpoena.

The moves strongly indicated that the administration is preparing line