Trump impeachment: White House refuses to take part in congressional hearings

United States President Donald Trump's attorney reportedly said on December 1 that the White House will not be participating in Congressional hearings which are set for Wednesday. According to international media reports, the White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote in a letter to Jerry Nadler, the Democratic chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representative that the White House cannot be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the President a fair process through additional hearings. 

The statement by the White House came after the Congressional panel decided to begin drawing up charges against the US President on December 4. A US Congressional committee on Judiciary also gave President Donald Trump a week’s notice to declare whether his legal counsel wants to introduce evidence and call witnesses in the impeachment proceedings. The House Judiciary Committee sent a two-page letter to Trump setting a deadline of 5:00pm on December 6 specifying whether his counsel intends to participate and which of the privileges it seeks to exercise. 

“Chairman Nadler has asked both the President and the Ranking Member to provide notice to the Committee of their intent to exercise these privileges no later than December 6, 2019,” said the committee in a press release. 

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Invitation for impeachment hearings

On November 26, the committee had sent another letter to the US President inviting him to attend or send his officials to participate in the impeachment hearings. “I have also written to President Trump to remind him that the Committee’s impeachment inquiry rules allow for the President to attend the hearing and for his counsel to question the witness panel,” said House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler in a statement. Nadler took a dig at Trump saying he can either avail the opportunity to be represented in the impeachment hearings or stop complaining about the process.

“I hope that he chooses to participate in the inquiry, directly or through counsel, as other Presidents have done before him,” he said. After the Thanksgiving recess, the three investigating panels are supposed to release a formal report on depositions and hearings.

(With agency inputs)

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