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Trump quickly rejects request to testify at his impeachment trial

2021-02-04T22:58:16.993Z


The impeachment prosecutors requested that Trump testify in the process. But the former president's lawyers rejected the request.


This is how the second impeachment trial of Trump 2:55 would work

(CNN) ––

Former President Donald Trump will not testify during his second impeachment trial, Jason Miller, Trump's former adviser, told CNN after House prosecutors appointed for the process requested on Thursday that the former president give his testimony in impeachment.

"The president will not testify in an unconstitutional process," Miller said.

The prosecutors' request for impeachment was a drastic move to try to get Trump to record his conduct surrounding the Jan.6 riots on Capitol Hill.

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    Trump Loses His Impeachment Team Amid Unwavering GOP Loyalty

But, Trump's legal team quickly rejected the request in a terse response to impeachment prosecutors.

In this way, it puts the decision of whether or not to force Trump to testify through a subpoena in the hands of the Democrats.

Chief impeachment prosecutor Jamie Raskin sent a letter to Trump's attorney on Thursday.

In the letter, he asked Trump to testify before or during the next impeachment trial, which begins Tuesday.

Raskin argued that the former president's testimony is necessary after he questioned the House's allegations that he incited the uprising on Capitol Hill.

"Two days ago, you filed an answer in which you denied many factual allegations established in the impeachment charge," Raskin wrote.

“Therefore, he has tried to challenge critical facts despite the clear and overwhelming evidence of his constitutional crime.

In light of your challenge to these factual allegations, I am writing to invite you to testify under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, about your conduct on January 6, 2021, "continued the Maryland Democrat.

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Trump's lawyers responded to Raskin's request on Thursday.

In a three-paragraph letter, they wrote that the move was a sign that the House could not prove its accusations against Trump.

"Using our Constitution to have a so-called impeachment process is too serious to attempt to play these games," wrote Trump attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen.

They present arguments for impeachment.

This they say 2:11

Senior advisers convinced Trump in January not to go to the House of Representatives to defend himself before his second impeachment trial.

A similar tactic that he also considered the first time he was charged.

The swift rejection of the request for Trump to testify at impeachment raises the question of whether Democrats will attempt to subpoena him.

The House letter does not mention a subpoena.

Instead, Raskin suggested that impeachment managers would use their denial against him, writing: "We reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference about his actions".

Asked whether he would subpoena Trump if he refused to appear, Raskin declined to comment.

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In the first impeachment trial, Democrats sought testimony from Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton, not from the president himself.

But the attempt to cite Bolton failed.

At the time, Republicans voted against hearing witnesses at trial before Trump was acquitted.

The question of whether House prosecutors would seek witnesses has been up in the air since the impeachment began.

Senators from both parties have called for a swift process for the Senate to move forward and work on President Joe Biden's agenda.

But impeachment prosecutors and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were silent on the matter from witnesses until Thursday's letter.

Senators from both parties appeared to reject the idea.

Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, said it would be a "pantomime."

Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, called it a "terrible idea."

"Don't you know President Trump?" Coons told reporters when asked to elaborate on his answer.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina and a close ally of the former president, said it would not be "in anyone's interest" for Trump to testify.

"It's just a political boast to do this, and they didn't call it to the House," Graham said.

Is impeachment of Trump constitutional?

1:15

While Trump's testimony during his Senate impeachment would be a huge media moment in the process, it is unclear whether it would change the outcome of the trial.

Forty-five of the 50 Republican senators voted last week to have the impeachment dismissed.

This on the basis that carrying it out against a former president is unconstitutional.

Pelosi was asked Thursday if House prosecutors were heading toward a possible acquittal of Trump because of the vote.

The Democratic leader responded specifically: "They don't know that."

"Why don't we wait and let them make their case?" Pelosi added.

"If we do not continue with this, we could also eliminate any sanction from the Constitution," he added.

The House of Representatives accused Trump last month of inciting insurrection on Capitol Hill.

In a pre-impeachment brief filed Tuesday, prosecutors called the former president "uniquely responsible" for the deadly riots.

They reported that Trump's actions in spreading false conspiracy theories that the elections were stolen prompted his supporters to attack the Capitol.

And, therefore, to alter the peaceful transfer of power by preventing Congress from certifying the election.

Trump's lawyers argued in legal brief Tuesday that the Senate impeachment was unconstitutional.

According to their argument, Trump was no longer president and did not incite the agitators.

The former president's legal team also argued that Trump's speech was protected by the First Amendment.

Furthermore, he noted that Trump's false claims about the election could not be proven inaccurate.

In Thursday's letter, Raskin asked Trump to testify sometime between Monday and Thursday of next week.

The trial is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.

Kaitlan Collins and Jim Acosta, both of CNN, contributed to this report.

Impeachment Impeachment of Donald Trump

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-02-04

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