House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Trump has no defense, and that’s why he won’t participate in impeachment.
Nadler said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA:
The American people deserve answers from President Trump. The House invited, and then subpoenaed, his top advisors. The President ordered them not to show and continues to block key evidence from Congress. We are disappointed that the President has once again failed to provide those answers here. We gave President Trump a fair opportunity to question witnesses and present his own to address the overwhelming evidence before us. After listening to him complain about the impeachment process, we had hoped that he might accept our invitation.
If the President has no good response to the allegations, then he would not want to appear before the Committee. Having declined this opportunity, he cannot claim that the process is unfair. The President’s failure will not prevent us from carrying out our solemn constitutional duty.
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Chairman Nadler is totally correct. The White House has been complaining about fairness for weeks, but they have been offered a seat at the table three times, and on each occasion, they declined to participate while whining about fairness.
Fairness is nothing more than a talking point that is intended to appeal to the Fox News audience. If Trump had any defense at all, he would offer it on national television in front of the entire country at the impeachment hearings.
If he is innocent, White House officials should be lining up to testify. Trump should be deposed. The White House’s silence is itself an answer. Trump has nothing to offer because saying anything might turn some Republicans against him and make impeachment bipartisan.
In the case of Donald Trump, silence is a clear admission of guilt.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
