House Judiciary Committee sets impeachment hearing

WASHINGTON -- The House Judiciary Committee is set to take over the impeachment probe of President Donald Trump next week, scheduling a Dec. 4 hearing on the question of "high crimes and misdemeanors" set out in the Constitution.

The hearing, announced Tuesday, will feature legal experts who will examine the constitutional grounds for impeachment. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said that it will "explore the framework put in place to respond to serious allegations of impeachable misconduct."

The Judiciary hearing will come as the House intelligence committee is expected to submit a report compiling evidence of its probe into Trump's dealings with Ukraine. The intelligence panel held two weeks of impeachment hearings this month examining Trump's requests for Ukraine to investigate Democrats as the U.S. withheld military aid to the country.

Trump and his lawyers are invited to attend the hearing and make a request to question witnesses, according to Democratic rules approved by the House last month. The committee released a letter from Nadler to the president, saying that he hopes Trump will participate, "consistent with the rules of decorum and with the solemn nature of the work before us."

It's unlikely that the president himself will attend the hearing, as Trump is scheduled to be overseas on Dec. 4 to participate in a summit with NATO allies outside London. The Judiciary panel gave the White House until Dec. 1 to decide whether Trump or his lawyers would attend.