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Hope Hicks Agrees to Closed-Door Interview by House Committee

Hicks, who was subpoenaed to testify, had been one of Trump’s longest-serving and most trusted advisers.

Hope Hicks Agrees to Closed-Door Interview by House Committee
Hope Hicks, White House communications director and former Trump adviser, attends a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. (Photographer: Olivier Douliery/Pool via Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, has agreed to be interviewed by the House Judiciary Committee in its investigation of President Donald Trump, the panel’s chairman said on Wednesday.

Hicks, who also worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign, agreed to the closed-door June 19 appearance, and a transcript of the proceeding will be released later, Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said in a statement.

“The interview will include questions related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign and efforts by President Trump, his associates, and other administration officials to obstruct justice and investigations into presidential misconduct,” Nadler added in the statement.

Hicks had been instructed by the White House not to provide the committee with documents, but hadn’t addressed her possible testimony directly.

“It is important to hear from Ms. Hicks, who was a key witness for the special counsel. Ms. Hicks understands that the Committee will be free to pose questions as it sees fit, including about her time on the Trump campaign and her time in the White House.” Nadler said.

Hicks, who was subpoenaed to testify, had been one of Trump’s longest-serving and most trusted advisers. She left the White House last year and is now chief communications officer for Fox Corp.

According to Mueller’s report, Trump asked Hicks to keep quiet about potentially damaging emails sent by his son Donald Trump Jr. Hicks, who was interviewed by Mueller’s team, also helped prepare a misleading statement about the purpose of a 2016 meeting involving the younger Trump and other advisers at Trump Tower with Russians that had been set up with the promise of political dirt on Democrat Hillary Clinton.

To contact the reporter on this story: Billy House in Washington at bhouse5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kevin Whitelaw at kwhitelaw@bloomberg.net, John Harney

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