According to a New York Times story, the House Judiciary Committee, which had just begun an impeachment inquiry into possible obstruction of justice charges detailed in the Mueller report, will temporarily step aside. The House Intelligence Committee, which just interviewed the acting Director of National Intelligence, Joseph Maguire, about the whistleblower complaint on Thursday, will now spearhead a much more focused and urgent impeachment strategy.

“The Intelligence Committee was quickly lining up investigative targets,” the Times reported. “Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Adam B. Schiff, the committee’s chairman, said that the complaint provided a clear ‘road map’ for congressional investigators in the coming weeks and that his committee would work through Congress’s two-week recess that begins on Friday.”

While the president’s own public admissions and the call summary of his conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will likely be key evidence in any investigation, House Democrats will also look to expand the probe to include the actions of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. State Department officials and unnamed White House lawyers, who the whistleblower alleges sought to cover up Trump’s misconduct will also be targeted in the investigation.

“Democrats already have outstanding requests to the State Department and the White House for all records related to Mr. Trump’s call with the Ukrainian leader, his decision to withhold $391 million in security aid from Ukraine at the same time he was pushing for an investigation of Mr. Biden and attempts to influence Ukrainian policy by Mr. Giuliani,” the Times notes. “If the requests are not fulfilled voluntarily, they could issue subpoenas compelling delivery of the material as soon as Friday.”

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