Trump lashes out at Democrats over Hope Hicks testimony

President Trump on Wednesday lashed out at House Democrats for calling former White House communications director Hope Hicks to testify.

In a string of tweets, the president accused congressional investigators of holding him and his team to a double standard by ignoring what he called the “real Obstruction” carried out by 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

“This is extreme Presidential Harassment. They gave Crooked Hillary’s people complete Immunity, yet now they bring back Hope Hicks,” Trump tweeted, accusing Democrats of wanting a “redo” of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.{mosads}

“DEMOCRAT CONGRESSIONAL HEARINGS ARE #RIGGED!” the president tweeted.

Hicks is testifying behind closed doors to the House Judiciary Committee, the first time a Trump White House adviser has appeared before the panel to answer questions as part of its investigation into whether the president obstructed the Russia probe.

But the hearing could turn contentious over the White House’s attempt to block Hicks from testifying about her time in the West Wing. White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) that Hicks is immune from being compelled to speak about events at the White House.

Hicks was one of Trump’s closest advisers, having been an original aide on his 2016 campaign, before she left the White House last year.

She was a key witness for Mueller, offering information about major moments including Trump’s role in crafting a misleading statement about the Trump Tower meeting in 2016 during which Donald Trump Jr. was expected to receive dirt on Clinton from a Kremlin-linked lawyer.