Nadler invites Trump to either participate in impeachment hearing next week or 'stop complaining'

The Democratic chair of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday issued a direct challenge to President Donald Trump: put up or shut up.

In a letter (pdf) addressed to Trump, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) told the president that he and his legal team are welcome to participate in public impeachment hearings in the Judiciary Committee—which will begin on Wednesday, December 4. Nadler informed Trump that the preident has until 6pm Sunday December 1 to decide whether or not to take part in the hearings.

"The President has a choice to make," Nadler said in a statement, "he can take this opportunity to be represented in the impeachment hearings, or he can stop complaining about the process."

Nadler added that Trump wouldn't be the first president to participate in such an inquiry.

"I hope that he chooses to participate in the inquiry, directly or through counsel, as other Presidents have done before him," said Nadler.

As of press time, Trump had not responded to Nadler.

In other impeachment news, The Washington Postreported Tuesday that former Hillary Clinton advisor Mark Penn is consulting with Trump on impeachment. Penn told the Post that he only stopped over at the White House for an informal visit.