WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee asked President Trump on Friday whether he intends to mount a defense during the committee’s consideration of impeachment articles, setting a deadline of next Friday for Mr. Trump and his lawyers to decide if they will present evidence or call witnesses. In a letter to the president, Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and the committee chairman, said Mr. Trump has the right to review the evidence against him, ask questions of his accusers during public hearings that begin next week and present evidence and request witness testimony. “Please provide the committee with notice of whether your counsel intends to participate, specifying which of the privileges your counsel seeks to exercise,” Mr. Nadler wrote. He said the deadline for responding is 5 p.m. on Dec. 6. Mr. Nadler’s panel will begin examining next week whether Mr. Trump abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine for politically beneficial investigations of his political rivals, and whether the president obstructed the congressional inquiry by refusing to provide documents and by blocking witnesses from testifying.

Source: New York Times November 29, 2019 21:57 UTC