US President Donald Trump must decide within a week on how to formalize his investigation of an impeachment trial. The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, led by the Democrats, sent a request to Trump on Friday. Therefore, Trump's attorneys are expected to declare evidence and call witnesses at the upcoming hearing by 6 pm local time on 6 December.
On December 4, the House Judiciary Committee meets for its first hearing on the matter. Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler had explicitly invited Trump to attend the meeting or be represented by a lawyer. Until next Sunday night, the president must decide on his participation in this hearing.
So far, the testimonies had only taken place before the congress. The panel responsible for the review of the possible impeachment trial plans to collect by a formal report on Tuesday the accumulated evidence of Trump's possible offenses in the Ukrainian economy. The Judiciary Committee will examine this report and investigate the case with further procedures. That's why Trump has to decide how he wants to defend himself in this further action.
The trigger for the trial by the Democrats is Trump's telephone conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj on 25 July. In it Trump Selenskyj suggested to investigate ex-vice-president Joe Biden, who is applying for the presidential candidacy of the Democrats, and his son Hunter for alleged involvement in corruption. He also threatened to withhold aid for the Ukrainian military.