President Donald Trump has been yelling about not getting a fair shake in the impeachment inquiry for what feels like the entire decade. Now, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) asked Trump on Friday if he will be mounting a defense while his committee considers any articles of impeachment.
Trump (and his lawyers) has until next Friday (Dec. 6) at 5 p.m. to decide to present evidence or witnesses, according to The New York Times. “Please provide the committee with notice of whether your counsel intends to participate, specifying which of the privileges your counsel seeks to exercise,” Nadler wrote in a letter to Trump and his counsel.
The letter also said that the committee has been investigating accusations as raised by the report compiled by Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The Times reported that Trump’s team could present a defense the week of Dec. 9 with the full committee voting on the whether to take up articles of impeachment later that week. This would mean the House could vote on those articles as early as the week of Dec. 16.
The House committee will hold its first hearing on Wednesday, and offered the president the option of having a representative present, CBS News reported. The White House has a deadline of Sunday to decide if a representative will attend that Wednesday meeting where “constitutional scholars will discuss the definition of an impeachable offense,” the Times reported.