The White House blasted the impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump as completely baseless Friday, signaling it would not send lawyers to Democratic-led hearings to draw up formal charges against the president. 

"House Democrats have wasted enough of America's time with this charade. You should end this inquiry now and not waste even more time with additional hearings," wrote the White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, in a letter to the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York.

Cipollone issued the letter minutes before a deadline to declare whether the White House would deploy representatives to defend Trump against accusations that he abused his office by pressuring Ukraine to find dirt on former vice president Biden, his potential challenger in the 2020 election.

Nadler's committee is to meet starting Monday to review the evidence from investigators and decide whether to charge Trump with abuse of power, bribery and obstruction. Those charges could become articles of impeachment sent to the full House to vote on within weeks, most likely before December 20, the final legislative day of the year.

In a statement, Nadler said he gave President Trump a fair opportunity to question witnesses and present his own to address the overwhelming evidence before the committee, but the president denied the opportunity.

"Having declined this opportunity, he cannot claim that the process is unfair," he said.

If the House impeaches the president, the case would move to the Republican-controlled Senate for a trial, probably early next year. 

The senior Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Doug Collins, announced a list of witnesses his camp wishes to subpoena, including Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, and his business partner Devon Archer. Also included was the whistleblower who first reported Trump's alleged pressuring of Ukraine to investigate.

The White House's stance is a marked departure from previous cases when the House moved to charge presidents. During the investigation into presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton, their lawyers fully participated in the proceedings, and presented defenses of the presidents before the Judiciary Committee.

In a tweet before Cipollone issued the letter that if there is going to be an impeachment, Trump said: "Do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business." 

(With input from AFP)