The president of the United States of America Donald Trump has refused to attend an impeachment hearing against him, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has reported.
His decline to attend the hearings were conveyed by the White House in a statement that cited what it described as a lack of "fundamental fairness and due process."
This comes as the hearings enter their next stage with legal experts expected to appear before the impeachment committee.
President Trump faces allegations of deploying US foreign policy for his own political gain by exerting undue pressure on Ukraine to investigate his possible presidential rival, Joe Biden.
The US president has strongly denied any wrongdoing, accusing the Democrats of engaging in a political witch hunt.
White House counsel to President Pat Cipollone sent the letter informing the impeachment committee that the president would not attend the hearing to the chairperson Jerrold Nadler.
"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. More importantly, an invitation to an academic discussion with law professors does not begin to provide the President with a semblance of a fair process. Accordingly, under the current circumstances, we do not intend to participate in your Wednesday hearing, " reads a letter seen by CNN.