The White House has told Democrats that US President Donald Trump will not send legal counsel to take part in a congressional impeachment hearing this week, citing a lack of "fundamental fairness".
The White House's decision on Sunday was in response to the first of two crucial deadlines it faces in Congress this week as Democrats prepared to shift the focus of their impeachment inquiry from fact-finding to the consideration of possible charges of misconduct over Mr Trump's dealings with Ukraine.
The Democratic-led House of Representatives judiciary committee, tasked with considering charges known as articles of impeachment, had given Mr Trump until 6pm on Sunday (10am AEDT on Monday) to say whether he would dispatch a lawyer to take part in the judiciary panel's proceeding on Wednesday.
"We cannot fairly be expected to participate in a hearing while the witnesses are yet to be named and while it remains unclear whether the judiciary committee will afford the president a fair process through additional hearings," White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote to committee chairman Jerrold Nadler, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters.
People protest Donald Trump in Florida on Sunday. Source: AAP
Mr Cipollone, who cited a "complete lack of due process and fundamental fairness afforded the president" in the impeachment process, added the White House would respond separately by a Friday deadline on whether Mr Trump would mount a defence in further impeachment proceedings.
The judiciary committee's Democratic staff did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the White House's refusal to take part in the hearing, which would have been the first direct involvement by the Mr Trump camp in a process he has condemned as a partisan "witch hunt".
Congressional investigators have been looking into whether Mr Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to launch investigations of former Democratic vice-president Joe Biden, who is running to unseat him in the 2020 presidential election, and a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 US presidential election.
Hearings before the committee, which has responsibility for crafting any formal charges against Mr Trump, are a major step toward possible charges.
Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing, calling the impeachment inquiry a "sham".
Mr Nadler also set a second deadline on Friday for Mr Trump to say whether he or his legal counsel would take part in further proceedings expected next week to examine evidence against him.
Three investigating panels, led by the House intelligence committee, are due to release a formal report this week when politicians return on Tuesday from a Thanksgiving recess.
The report will outline evidence gathered by the intelligence, foreign affairs and oversight committees.
Members of the intelligence panel will review the report in a classified setting on Monday evening and the full committee will consider and vote on it on Tuesday before forwarding it to the judiciary committee, according to an intelligence committee official and a person familiar with the matter.
