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Rudy Giuliani
Democrats have demanded records from the president’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, in the next step of an effort that could remove Mr Trump from office.
Mr Giuliani has admitted to asking Ukraine to investigate corruption allegations – widely debunked – against former vice-president Joe Biden.
Lawmakers issued a subpoena for those communication records from Mr Giuliani.
A phone call between President Donald Trump and the president of Ukraine was flagged by a whistleblower.
A rough transcript emerged last week of that call between Mr Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The transcript shows the US president urged him to investigate the discredited allegations against Mr Biden, a 2020 Democratic frontrunner, and his son.
The call is now at the centre of an impeachment inquiry by Democrats – an effort that could see Mr Trump expelled from office, but doing so would require members of his Republican party to turn against him.
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Three chairmen of key House of Representatives committees – Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight – sent the subpoena notice to Mr Giuliani on Monday.
The subpoena was expected, as Democrats had earlier said they wanted to question Mr Giuliani, a central figure in the saga.
On the phone call, Mr Trump asked the Ukrainian president to co-ordinate with his lawyer on any inquiry into Mr Biden and son Hunter.
During a 19 September appearance on CNN, Mr Giuliani confirmed he asked Ukraine to “look into the allegations that related to my client, which tangentially involved Joe Biden in a massive bribery scheme”.
In their subpoena letter, the chairmen said: “In addition to this stark admission, you stated more recently that you are in possession of evidence – in the form of text messages, phone records, and other communications – indicating that you were not acting alone and that other Trump Administration officials may have been involved in this scheme.”
The chairmen have demanded all relevant communications be submitted by 15 October.
Mr Giuliani and the White House have not yet responded to the subpoena, though on Sunday, Mr Giuliani told ABC News he “wouldn’t co-operate” with Mr Schiff.