Trump Admin Declining to Participate in First House Judiciary Impeachment Hearing
President Donald Trump and his administration will not participate in the first House Judiciary impeachment hearing this week, according to a new letter.
“Under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing,” White House Counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in the letter released Sunday night.
BREAKING: The White House announces it will not participate in the Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearing on Wednesday — but leaves open prospect of participating in future hearings. pic.twitter.com/VeIfccIKv4
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 2, 2019
The full 5-page letter is largely an attack on the House’s impeachment process, arguing that Dems failed to provide enough opportunities for Trump to participate.
Reads similar to House GOP’s complaints throughout Intel hearings. pic.twitter.com/FadJAIiNO3
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) December 2, 2019
The hearing led by Rep. Jerry Nadler is scheduled for Wednesday, following the inquiry hearings led by Intel Chair Adam Schiff. Nadler had set a deadline on Sunday for Trump to indicate whether the president himself or a White House attorney would attend Wednesday’s hearing.
The first hearing will largely be concerned with interviewing academic constitutional experts on the subject of impeachment. “An invitation to an academic discussion with law professors does not begin to provide the president with any semblance of a fair process,” Cipollone wrote in his letter.
The White House has until Friday to decide if it will participate in future hearings by presenting evidence or calling witnesses.
Watch above, via CNN. Featured image via Alex Wong/Getty Images.
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