The White House on Wednesday cast doubts about an appearance before the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment hearings set for next week by President Donald Trump.
In a statement from White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, she said that the president has done “nothing wrong” though the administration is currently reviewing an offer by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) for the president to appear.
“But what is obvious to every American is that this letter comes at the end of an illegitimate sham partisan process,” Grisham said. “The president has done nothing wrong and the Democrats know it.”
Nadler sent Trump a letter late Tuesday as he announced that his committee would begin holding its first impeachment hearing Dec. 4.
The New York Democrat said the focus initially will be on the Constitution’s definition of “high crimes and misdemeanors” which is the standard for impeachment. Later, he said the committee plans to examine the president’s actions involving military aid to Ukraine.
Trump will be traveling back to the United States on Dec. 4 following two days’ worth of meetings in London.
During a rally in Florida Tuesday night, the president dismissed the impeachment proceedings as pointless.
“I have never had a direct link between investigations and security assistance,” the president the crowd. “You know what it means — it means we did zero. We did nothing wrong.”
He also discussed his likely impeachment strategy.
“During the time period at issue, the U.S. government officials held many meetings with Ukraine,” Trump said. “And never once, never, did Ukraine or the officials say anything that was wrong.”