CONGRESS/DEMS/INVESTIGATIONS/MEDIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Former White House communications director Hope Hicks told lawmakers Wednesday [6-19-19] that she had ‘never been asked to lie about matters of substance or consequence,’ contending that ‘white lies’ she had told on behalf of President Donald Trump were about small matters, such as his availability. The comments are part of the 273-page transcript of Hicks’ closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, a document that revealed behind-the-scenes details of Trump’s presidential campaign as well as her relationship to the now-commander in chief. Asked if Trump ever asked anyone to lie during the campaign, Hicks said: ‘Not that I can recall.’ But the transcript also showed just how much White House lawyers objected to the questioning. According to Democrats on the committee, attorneys from the Trump administration blocked Hicks from answering 155 questions. Democrats said Hicks was accompanied by her two private lawyers, as well as three lawyers from the White House and one lawyer from the Justice Department, who objected throughout the nearly eight-hour session to virtually every topic on her time in the White House.”
–Marshall Cohen, Kaitlan Collins, Manu Raju and Jeremy Herb, “Hope Hicks says she told ‘white lies’ only about small matters,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, June 20, 2019 8:00 pm