FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry listens during a news conference after the Partnership for Transatlantic Energy Cooperation conference in Vilnius, Lithuania October 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Energy Secretary Rick Perry will refuse to appear before a closed session of House of Representatives committees investigating President Donald Trump for possible impeachment, an Energy Department spokeswoman said on Friday.

“The Secretary will not partake in a secret star chamber inquisition where agency counsel is forbidden to be present,” spokeswoman Shaylyn Hynes said in a statement.

“If the committee is interested in conducting a serious proceeding they are welcome to send for the Secretary’s consideration an invitation to participate in an open hearing where the Department’s counsel can be present and the American people can witness,” she said.