(CNN)Impeachment witness Charles Kupperman distanced himself from acting White

House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Monday as Mulvaney attempted to

join Kupperman's lawsuit testing House subpoena power.

Kupperman claims in a court filing that Mulvaney shouldn't be allowed to join his lawsuit asking
a court for help in a fight between the White House and the House of Representatives. Though
Kupperman supports Mulvaney filing a separate lawsuit that would be heard by the same judge,
Kupperman doesn't want to share his lawsuit with Mulvaney.
The legal maneuvering Monday distances Mulvaney from other key administration officials in
the impeachment probe, at a time when the acting chief of staff has had a shaky relationship
with others in the White House and who impeachment witnesses have said was a major broker
in seeking political help for the President from Ukraine.

The pushback from Kupperman's team comes hours before federal judge Richard Leon of the
US District Court in Washington, DC, will hear arguments about Mulvaney joining Kupperman's
lawsuit. That is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET Monday.
Kupperman, a former White House national security official, asked a court to decide whether he
was obliged to testify to the House last month, or whether the White House's assertion of
immunity over him was correct. The House later withdrew the subpoena, asking the court to
dismiss the case and calling Kupperman's legal approach a delay tactic.
Mulvaney, meanwhile, was hit by a House subpoena Thursday night, but he did not
appear for the requested Friday testimony. He then asked the court late Friday night for
similar guidance to Kupperman.