Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), holds a news conference at the U.S. Capitol before the start of the day's Senate impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday rejected a proposal from a couple of Republican senators that lawmakers view a book manuscript produced by a former adviser to President Donald Trump in a classified setting, saying nothing can substitute for sworn testimony.

“What an absurd proposal. It’s a book,” Schumer told reporters, saying there was no need to read it in a classified setting “unless you want to hide something.”

“Our view is simple: we want four witnesses, four documents,” he said.