Article snippet: WASHINGTON — The impeachment inquiry is reaching directly into the White House, with Democrats subpoenaing officials about contacts with Ukraine and President Donald Trump signaling his administration will not cooperate. The demand for documents Friday capped a tumultuous week that widened the constitutional battle between the executive branch and Congress and heightened the political standoff with more witnesses, testimony and documents to come. Trump said he would formally object to Congress about the House impeachment inquiry, even as he acknowledged that Democrats ‘‘have the votes’’ to proceed. They’ll be sorry in the end, he predicted. ‘‘I really believe that they’re going to pay a tremendous price at the polls,’’ Trump said. But Democrats accused Trump of speeding down ‘‘a path of defiance, obstruction and cover-up’’ and warned that defying the House subpoena would in itself be considered ‘‘evidence of obstruction’’ and a potentially an impeachable offense. Lawmakers have made Trump’s request last summer that Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden the centerpiece of the probe. A whistleblower complaint said that Trump sought to use military assistance for Ukraine as leverage to push President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the 2020 Democratic hopeful. ‘‘We deeply regret that President Trump has put us — and the nation — in this position, but his actions have left us with no choice,’’ wrote the three Democratic House chairmen, Reps. Elijah ... Link to the full article to read more