White House lawyer Pat Cipollone criticized the House of Representatives for advancing the impeachment investigation without a full vote when the White House suddenly blocked a key witness to the Ukrainian scandal from attending a House subcommittee hearing hours ago.
"The investigations you designed and implemented violate basic fairness and constitutional due process," he said, noting that House Democrats left Trump with "no choice".
"In order to fulfill his responsibilities to the American people, the Constitution, the executive branch and all future presidents, President Trump and his government cannot participate in your partisan and unconstitutional investigations under such circumstances," he said.
The State Department said earlier that Gordon Sondland, the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, would not be allowed to testify in what Trump called a "private court". This is the most aggressive White House response to impeachment investigations so far.
Democratic lawmakers condemned the practice of preventing Sunderland from testifying, saying it was an attempt to obstruct their investigation. Democratic lawmakers have subpoenaed Sunderland to testify in court on October 16. Sunderland has returned to the United States from Europe in order to appear in court.
The State Council did not respond to a request for comment on why Sunderland was blocked hours before the scheduled court appearance.
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