House Appropriations staffer will fight subpoena

A House Appropriations Committee staffer, with the help of the House General Counsel’s office, is fighting a grand jury subpoena issued as part of the investigation into Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.).

{mosads}Greg Lankler, an aide who now works for the Democratic majority on the spending panel but had worked for Republicans when Lewis chaired the committee, sent a notice to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), as House rules require, alerting her of his decision to resist the subpoena after consulting with the General Counsel’s office. Notice of the letter was read on the House floor Thursday afternoon.

A Los Angeles grand jury recently subpoenaed Lankler, demanding that he testify and turn over documents the Department of Justice is seeking. Lankler asserted that demands for the records and testimony were inconsistent with the “rights and privileges of the House.”