Former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., is joining President Trump’s legal team as outside counsel for the House’s expanding impeachment inquiry, according to a report.
An administration official who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity confirmed Gowdy’s hiring Tuesday.
Gowdy, who formerly chaired the House Oversight and Reform Committee, decided not seek to reelection last year and joined the law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP after leaving office.
He has also been a Fox News contributor but the network would not immediately comment on Gowdy’s status after the Associated Press report.
WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES IT WILL NOT COMPLY WITH ‘ILLEGITIMATE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY
The White House wrote in an eight-page letter to Congress on Tuesday that it won’t participate in what it’s calling an “illegal” investigation, writing that the inquiry “violates fundamental fairness and constitutionally mandated due process” and “lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation.”
(Former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy. (Getty Images))
The letter came to the same day the administration blocked U.S. European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland from testifying on the Hill.
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“The White House should be warned that continued efforts to hide the truth of the President’s abuse of power from the American people will be regarded as further evidence of obstruction,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement responding to the letter. “Mr. President, you are not above the law. You will be held accountable.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
