The White House told House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-New York, 10th District) in a letter dated Sunday that they will not participate in the impeachment hearing on Wednesday.
This message, attributed to White House Counsel Pat A. Cipollone, argues that President Donald Trump has been, and continues to be denied due process in the impeachment hearings against him.
“It is too late to cure the profound procedural deficiencies that have tainted this entire inquiry,” Cipollone wrote. “Nevertheless, if you are serious about conducting a fair process going forward, and in order to protect the rights and privileges of the President, we may consider participating in future Judiciary Committee proceeding if you afford the Administration the ability to do so meaningfully.”
Calls for the president’s impeachment are older than his administration, but the tipping point came when he asked the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to have Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden investigated. The president has denied making this a quid pro quo for military aid to the nation.
As he has in other controversies, Trump construes criticism as strictly politically motivated and intended to undermine his administration.
Nadler also gave the White House a deadline of Friday to announce whether they will participate in the impeachment hearings at all.
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