John Gore, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, is refusing to appear for a Thursday deposition with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, The Daily Beast is reporting.
Word of his decision to pass on the deposition came in a letter the Justice Department sent to committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., according to The Daily Beast. The letter, written by Stephen Boyd, the department's top Hill liaison, noted Gore will not testify as long as Cummings stops him from bringing lawyers from the Justice Department.
"We are disappointed that the Committee remains unwilling to permit Department counsel to represent the interests of the Executive Branch in the deposition of a senior Department official," Boyd wrote. "Accordingly, Attorney General [William] Barr's determination that Mr. Gore will not appear at the committee’s deposition unless a department attorney may accompany him remains in effect."
Gore was scheduled to testify about the Trump administration's effort to add a question on the Census about citizenship.
The Daily Beast noted the committee had approved a subpoena for him earlier this month. His refusal to appear could result in an effort by committee members to hold in him contempt.
Gore's refusal to appear comes on the heels of the White House telling Carl Kline, who oversaw the security clearance process, not to comply with a subpoena ordering him to testify before the panel in an unrelated inquiry.
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