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The White House

Washington

December 1,2019

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler

Chairman

Committee on the Judiciary

United States House of Representatives

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Nadler:

I write in response to your letter of November 26, 2019, to President Trump regarding the purported "impeachment inquiry" currently being conducted by Democrats in the House of Representatives ("House"). As you know, this baseless and highly partisan inquiry violates all past historical precedent, basic due process rights, and fundamental fairness. Your letter asked that the President notify the House Committee on the Judiciary ("Judiciary Committee" or "Committee") by December 1, 2019, whether the Administration intends to participate in a hearing scheduled for December 4,2019. You scheduled this initial hearing ---no doubt purposely---during the time that you know the President will be out of the country attending the NATO Leaders Meeting in London.

Your letter provides little information about the upcoming hearing. It vaguely indicates that you intend to hold a hearing to discuss the "historical and constitutional basis of impeachment." We understand from rumors and press reports (through not from any notice provided in your letter or in the official notice of the hearing) that the hearing will consist of an academic discussion by law profeffors. We understand this to mean that your initial hearing will include no fact witnesses at all.

You also sent another letter on November 29,2019, setting a different deadline of December 6 for the President to provide notice as to whether the Administration intends to participate in additional, unspecified hearing that apparently will occur, what witnesses will be called, what the schedule will be, what the procedures will be, or what rights, if any, the Committee intends to afford the President. In other words, you have given no information regarding your plans, set arbitrary deadlines, and then demanded a response, all to create the false appearance of providing the President some rudimentary process. In any event, this letter responds onlt to your letter of November 26 and fully reserves the right to respond further when and if you release more information about the December 4 hearing. We will respond separately to your letter of November 29 by your requested deadline of Friday, December 6.

The Honorable Jerrold Nadler

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As an initial matter, your letter of November 26 only exacerbates the complete lack of due process and fundamental fairness afforded the President throughout this purported impeachment inquiry. Although your letter attempts to invoke precedent from the Clinton impeachment inquiry, you have completely ignored not only the process followed then, but all other historical precedent. For example, when the Judiciary Committee scheduled a similar hearing during the Clinton impeachment process, it allowed these questioning the witnesses two-and-a-half weeks' notice to prepare, and it scheduled the hearing on a date suggested by the President's attorneys. Today, by contrast, you have afforded the President no scheduling input, no meaningful information, and so little time to prepare that you have effectively denied the Administration a fair opportunity to participate. Although the hearing is set to occur in just three days, you still have not disclosed the identities of the witnesses who will appear. Press reports as late as this afternoon indicate that the identities of the witnesses, apparently all academics, have not even been provided to other Democrats on the Judiciary Committee. These reports also indicate that you currently intend to call three academic witnesses, but will allow Republicans to call only one such witness. Worse, while providing no information, you have demanded a response from the President. Your letter does not even attempt to explain the reason for this.

The Committee's unfair process regarding this hearing follows numerous other violations of due process by the House--both before and since the adoption of House Resolution ("H.Res.") 660--including the outright prohibition on participation by the President at any stage in the proceedings before the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI"). There, Chairman Schiff attempted to concoct a false narrative through selective citation of the testimony of witnesses of his choosing, after vetting them during closed-door depositions hidden from both the President and the American public. The President was not allowed to present evidence, to call witnesses, to cross examine witnesses, or even to see transcripts until weeks after testimony had been taken, and he was allowed absolutely no participation in the public hearings that followed. Further, witness requests made by Republicans were denied. In addition, certain questioning of the witnesses who did testify was censored by Democrats.

Despite the fundamental unfairness of these hearings, the facts that emerged even from Chairman Schiff's carefully controlled and blatantly unfair process served only to further confirm that the President has done nothing wrong and that there is no basis for continuing your inquiry. Inviting the Administration now to participate in an after-the-fact constitutional law seminar- with yet-to-be named witnesses- only demonstrates further the countless procedural deficiencies that have infected this inquiry from its inception and shows the lack of seriousness with which you are undertaking these proceedings. An academic discussion cannot retroactively fix an irretrievably broken process.

Moreover, your November 26 letter threatens that "{w}hile we invite you to this hearing, we remind you that if you continue to refuse to make witnesses and documents available to the committees of jurisdiction, under H. Res. 660, "the chair shall have the discretion to impose additional remedies.'" And attempt by the judiciary Committee to deny the President procedural rights based on the President's assertion of the longstanding constitutional

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rights and privileges of the Executive Branch is equivalent to denying the President his procedural rights altogether.

NIKK..sorry for any mistakes..I'm the worst typist in the world. This has taken me over two hours to type. Resting to type the rest...lol

Up Nadler’s Butt.

Eric Stinksowell is so excited he is running from his farts, he is so excited.

Thanks for all the hard work NIKK, truly appreciated.

Thanks, NIKK.

Makes it so much easier to read.

“This has taken me over two hours to type.”

I had no idea, I thought you cut and pasted it! Thank you so much for going through all that work! It is an amazing letter

Next time you want to do something like that, let me know and I can try dictating it. It might be faster but someone smarter than me would have to proofread.