Engel subpoenas head of government's foreign broadcast media agencies
House Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel has subpoenaed Michael Pack, President Donald Trump's appointee to lead the U.S. government's foreign broadcast media arm.
Pack, CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media and a close ally of former Trump aide Steve Bannon, has been sharply criticized by Democrats in recent months as he's moved to reshape the leadership of the news organizations under his purview, including Voice of America. Democrats worry that he intends to curtail the outlets' independence and bend them toward serving Trump's political ends.
Engel (D-N.Y.) accused Pack of seeking to back out of a Sept. 24 commitment to testify before his committee. "His office failed to provide any reasonable alternative dates and his excuse for breaking his commitment is not acceptable," Engel said in a statement.
Pack has previously insisted his personnel changes were a routine part of new leadership at a large organization.
A spokesperson for U.S. Agency for Global Media on Friday said Pack couldn’t attend due to a conflict with the original hearing date.
“Michael Pack is disappointed that the Committee has decided to escalate the situation,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Pack is eager to testify before the Committee to talk about the critical work of USAGM and to answer Members’ questions.”
Engel recently subpoenaed the State Department for documents connected to GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's investigation of Joe Biden's relationships in Ukraine, a probe that Democrats say is politically motivated and potentially tainted by Russian disinformation.
Engel is also probing Trump's decision earlier this year to fire State Department inspector general Steve Linick.
