WASHINGTON — Former White House aide Hope Hicks has agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee behind closed doors next week, chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., announced Wednesday.
Hicks, who worked as White House communications director and the White House director of strategic communications after having served as a senior aide on Trump's 2016 campaign, is scheduled to appear before the committee on June 19.
Hicks would be first former Trump aide to testify before the committee, which is investigating several matters regarding President Donald Trump’s administration, including whether the president or anyone close to him obstructed then-special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. She was previously subpoenaed by the committee to appear publicly.
The news was first reported by The Washington Post.
NBC News has reached out to Hicks' lawyer and the White House.
In a statement announcing Hicks' scheduled appearance, Nadler said the interview would include questions related to Mueller’s probe and "efforts by President Trump, his associates, and other Administration officials to obstruct justice and investigations into Presidential misconduct."
"Ms. Hicks understands that the Committee will be free to pose questions as it sees fit, including about her time on the Trump Campaign and her time in the White House," Nadler said. "Should there be a privilege or other objection regarding any question, we will attempt to resolve any disagreement while reserving our right to take any and all measures in response to unfounded privilege assertions."
Nadler said the interview would be transcribed and that the transcript would be released to the public "promptly."
Earlier this month, NBC News reported that the White House had directed Hicks — as well as former administration official Annie Donaldson — to ignore a subpoena from the panel and not hand over any documents to the House Judiciary Committee related to their time at the White House.
The subpoenas to Hicks and to Donaldson, issued last month, sought testimony and documents related to the panel's investigation into obstruction of justice, corruption and other potential abuses of power by Trump and members of his administration. June 4 was the deadline for Hicks and Donaldson to turn over documents, though the deadline for testimony and deposition falls later this month.
Nadler's subpoena called for Hicks to testify before his committee on June 19.
Hicks previously testified before the House Intelligence Committee in in February 2018 about her time on Trump's campaign. She was also interviewed by the special counsel's team — input that Nadler and others have said had were "critical" for Mueller's 448-page report.
"The redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report documented alarming misconduct and obstruction of justice by President Trump. Donaldson and Hicks were critical witnesses to this behavior," Nadler's committee said in a May statement.
