The White House submitted a letter to Congress on behalf of President Trump formally refusing to participate in the House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry.
The letter, announced by a White House statement Tuesday afternoon, was authored by Counsel to the President, Pat Cipollone, and declared the impeachment inquiry “constitutionally illegitimate,” among other criticisms.
Read the White House’s full response to Nancy Pelosi and Democrat leaders on their illegitimate “impeachment inquiry”—a sham process that violates the Constitution and the rule of law.https://t.co/0kC4yFeghg
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 8, 2019
“I write … in response to your numerous, legally unsupported demands made as part of what you have labeled – contrary to the Constitution of the United States and all past bipartisan precedent – as an ‘impeachment inquiry,’” the letter stated, adding that the inquiry “violated fundamental fairness and constitutionally mandated due process.”
“Never before in our history has the House of Representatives – under the control of either political party – taken the American people down the dangerous path you seem determined to pursue,” the letter said.
The letter then outlined numerous examples of the inquiry’s actions that have violated laws, the Constitution, and past precedent.
“For these reasons, President Trump and his Administration reject your baseless, unconstitutional efforts to overturn the democratic process. Your unprecedented actions have left the President with no choice,” the letter said.
“In order to fulfill his duties to the American people, the Constitution, the Executive Branch, and all future occupants of the Office of the Presidency, President Trump and his Administration cannot participate in your partisan and unconstitutional inquiry under these circumstances,” it added.
The letter comes two weeks after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced an official impeachment inquiry, sparked by allegations that Trump withheld $391 million in aid from Ukraine as a tactic of pressuring the country to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
“The letter demonstrates that the Democrats’ inquiry lacks any legitimate constitutional foundation, any pretense of fairness, and even the most elementary due process protections,” the White House statement noted on Tuesday.
POTUS has done nothing wrong, & the Dems know it. For purely political reasons, the Dems have decided their desire to overturn the 2016 election allows them to conduct a so-called impeachment inquiry that ignores the fundamental rights guaranteed to every American.
— Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) October 8, 2019
“Democrats are pursuing purely partisan goals, including influencing the upcoming 2020 election. In the process, they are violating civil liberties and the separation of powers, threatening Executive Branch officials with punishment simply for exercising their constitutional rights and prerogatives,” the statement added.
