House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said that Trump was hiding by refusing to participate in the impeachment hearings.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote to Nadler, “As for the hearing scheduled for December 4, we cannot fairly 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. More importantly, an invitation to an academic discussion with law professors does not begin to provide the President with any semblance of a fair process. Accordingly, under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing.”
Chairman Nadler said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
Late last night, the President and his counsel turned down our invitation to participate in Wednesday’s hearing. His response is unfortunate because allowing the President to participate has been a priority for the House from the outset. That is why the House included the opportunity to participate in H. Res 660.
The American people deserve transparency. If the President thinks the call was ‘perfect’ and there is nothing to hide then he would turn over the thousands of pages of documents requested by Congress, allow witnesses to testify instead of blocking testimony with baseless privilege claims, and provide any exculpatory information that refutes the overwhelming evidence of his abuse of power.
Trump and his administration have whined endlessly about the unfairness and lack of opportunity for their participation in the impeachment process, but when they were offered the chance to participate, they hid and said no.
As Chairman Nadler said, if Trump’s Ukraine call was perfect, the White House should be rushing to offer up a defense and tell their story.
Trump is refusing to participate because he is guilty. The president can’t contest the facts and is afraid of the consequences of participation.
Democrats offered Trump a seat at the table, but the president has chosen to sit in the corner and cry crocodile tears about fairness. While trying to play the victim, Trump is proving his own guilt.
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Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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