Impeachment inquiry latest: Rudy Giuliani defies subpoena for documents on Ukraine in impeachment inquiry — live updates – CBS News

Key facts and latest news

• Rudy Giuliani refused to hand over documents about his work with Ukraine, defying a congressional subpoena.
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she won’t call a full House vote to formally authorize the impeachment inquiry.
• Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, says he has no regrets about joining the board of a Ukrainian firm but regrets the fallout that has since enveloped his father’s campaign.
• George Kent, a top official in the State Department, is being deposed on Capitol Hill.
• On a July call between Mr. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump urged Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.

Washington — President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani refused to comply with a congressional subpoena for documents about his efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government, with his attorney calling the impeachment inquiry “unconstitutional, baseless, and illegitimate.”

Giuliani also parted ways with that attorney, John Sale, whom he recently hired to represent him in the impeachment probe. Sale wrote the letter informing the committees of Giuliani’s refusal to hand over documents.

“Jon Sale, who is a lifelong friend, has represented me for the sole purpose of analyzing the request and responding,” Giuliani said on Twitter. “At this time, I do not need a lawyer.”

The House committees leading the impeachment probe had initially issued a voluntarily request for documents, and issued a subpoena after Giuliani refused to hand them over.

Two of Giuliani’s associates who were involved in his Ukraine work were indicted on federal campaign finance charges last week. Federal investigators are looking into Giuliani’s involvement with the two men, and the investigation will include any business dealings Giuliani may have had with the two men, a person familiar with the matter previously told CBS News. Giuliani denied any knowledge of a federal investigation.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden told ABC News he has no regrets about joining the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was in office. Biden said that in retrospect it was “poor judgment” to join the board of Burisma but that he did nothing “improper” and only had a “brief exchange” with his father about his role.

“I gave a hook to some very unethical people to act in illegal ways to try to do some harm to my father,” he said. “That’s where I made the mistake. So I take full responsibility for that.”

Biden told ABC that while he does not regret the work, “what I regret is not taking into account that there would be a Rudy Giuliani and a president of the United States that would be listening to this ridiculous conspiracy idea.”

Also on Tuesday, a key State Department official testified before congressional investigators as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill after a two-week break.

George Kent, the deputy assistant secretary of state in the European and Eurasian bureau, arrived on Capitol Hill for his deposition before the House Intelligence, Foreign Affairs and Oversight committees. In emails from last spring provided to Congress by the State Department inspector general earlier this month, Kent expressed concerns about the administration’s efforts to oust Marie Yovanovitch, then the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine.

Fiona Hill, the former senior director for Russia at the National Security Council, testified Monday behind closed doors in a marathon session lasting more than 10 hours.

The New York Times reported Hill testified that former National Security Adviser John Bolton was opposed to efforts by Giuliani and others to pressure Ukraine, quoting Bolton as saying the former New York mayor was a “hand grenade who’s going to blow everybody up.” Hill also told lawmakers Bolton said he was “not part of whatever drug deal Sondland and Mulvaney are cooking up,” referring to Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the E.U., and Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff.

A source familiar with Hill’s testimony confirmed the accuracy of the quotes to CBS News.

Asked for comment about Bolton’s comments, Giuliani told CBS News he was “disappointed in John.”