President Donald Trump is confronting the limits of his main impeachment defense.
As the probe hits the one-month mark, Trump and his aides have largely ignored the details of the Ukraine allegations against him.
Instead, they're loudly objecting to the House Democrats' investigation process, using that as justification for ordering administration officials not to cooperate and complaining about what they deem prejudicial, even unconstitutional, secrecy.
But as a near-daily drip of derogatory evidence emerges from closed-door testimony on Capitol Hill, the White House assertion that the proceedings are unfair is proving to be a less-than-compelling counter to the mounting threat to Trump's presidency.
Some senior officials have complied with congressional subpoenas to assist House Democratic investigators, defying White House orders.
Asked about criticism that the White House lacks a coordinated pushback effort and could do a better job delivering its message, spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said, "It's hard to message anything that's going on behind closed doors and in secret."
"It's like you're fighting a ghost, you're fighting against the air. So we're doing the best we can," she said on Fox News.
It was a rare public
admission from the White House that despite the president's bravado, real risks remain.
White House officials, who have been treating unified Republican support for Trump as a given, have grown increasingly fearful of GOP defections in a House impeachment vote and a potential Senate trial.