Trump Will Not Testify Or Provide Any Statement At Impeachment Trial, Lawyer Says ⋆ News: Art, Travel, Design, Technology

Former President Donald Trump will not testify in his impeachment trial within the Senate subsequent week and will not submit a written statement, his lawyer mentioned Thursday after Democrats requested he seem.

A written statement was one thing that had been into consideration by Trump’s former authorized workforce.

Lead impeachment supervisor, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., earlier Thursday requested that Trump testify underneath oath.

Bruce Castor, who’s a part of the workforce representing Trump in his impeachment trial, mentioned “no” when requested by NBC News if Trump would testify. “It’s a publicity stunt in order to make up for the weakness of the House managers’ case,” Castor mentioned

Raskin responded that any official accused of inciting violence in opposition to the federal government ought to welcome the possibility to testify. “His immediate refusal to testify speaks volumes and plainly establishes an adverse inference supporting his guilt,” Raskin mentioned.

Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on Jan. 13 on an article charging him with “incitement of insurrection” for his position within the violent riot by a pro-Trump mob at the U.S. Capitol earlier that month.

The crux of Trump’s protection will deal with the argument that impeaching him after he’s left workplace is unconstitutional — one thing that’s in dispute.

“If you’re taking the House’s place to its logical conclusion, they may impeach Donald Trump and convict him if he was lifeless,” Castor mentioned. “And that would be a ridiculous result. They could impeach Abraham Lincoln.”

Democratic House impeachment managers say Trump’s actions warrant his disqualification from federal office. They also argue that nothing in the Constitution says only current officials can be tried.

They wrote in a brief that the Constitution “clearly intended for the impeachment process to reach former officials,” adding that the Senate found it had the power to try former officials as far back as 1798, in the case of former Sen. William Blount.

In 1876, Congress impeached and then tried Ulysses S. Grant’s secretary of war — William Belknap — who had resigned after he discovered he was about to be impeached. He was tried anyway, but was acquitted after the Senate reached a majority but failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed.

Trump’s impeachment is the first time a president has been impeached twice. The Senate trial is expected to begin Tuesday.

Earlier this week, attorneys for Trump filed briefs in the impeachment proceedings that called the trial partisan and unconstitutional. His lawyers have urged a quick dismissal.

On Thursday Raskin had requested that Trump testify at the trial. “In light of your disputing these factual allegations, I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath,” Raskin wrote in a letter to Trump.

Raskin in his letter famous that former Presidents Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton “both provided testimony while in office” and cited a 2020 Supreme Court ruling that discovered {that a} president is not immune from prison prosecution.

“So there is no doubt that you can testify in these proceedings,” Raskin wrote.

The impeachment article costs Trump with “incitement of insurrection” for his position within the violent riot by a pro-Trump mob within the U.S. Capitol that left a number of folks lifeless and terrorized lawmakers as they sought to affirm President Joe Biden’s victory.

The article additionally cites Trump’s Jan. 2 telephone name urging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” sufficient votes to overturn the state’s election outcomes as a part of his effort “to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election.”

The Democratic-controlled House accredited the article on a 232-197 vote; 10 Republicans sided in opposition to Trump. It was probably the most bipartisan vote on a presidential impeachment in historical past, doubling the 5 Democrats who voted to question Clinton in 1998.

Castor mentioned that Trump’s claims of voter fraud — which have by no means been substantiated and have been referred to as baseless — will not be a part of the protection.

“We are not planning on going down that road, and I don’t see any reason to,” he mentioned. “As far as I can tell the case is a winner. And I’m not going to inject the problem into the case. That’s injecting a problem into the case.”

And Biden’s plans throughout the impeachment trial are to proceed with their work as if it’s not going down, in accordance with White House officers.

Aides are crafting a busy schedule for the president targeted on the coronavirus pandemic and the financial system, and conferences with state and native officers — all aimed at displaying he’s on the job and undistracted by the impeachment of his predecessor, officers mentioned.

One official mentioned that from the White House’s perspective, the impeachment trial cannot finish — and Congress cannot transfer on — quickly sufficient.

The request for Trump to testify within the Senate trial was met with some consternation. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., mentioned it will be a “dog and pony show,” and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., a detailed ally of Biden’s, referred to as it “a terrible idea.”

Asked why it would be a terrible idea, Coons responded by asking, “Have you met President Trump?”

Castor, a former district attorney in Pennsylvania, said that he expects the trial to end either Friday or Sunday.

Castor noted the other lawyer on Trump’s legal team, David Schoen, cannot work on Saturday because of his Jewish faith.

The Senate impeachment rules dictate that the trial goes from Monday to Saturday, with no trial on Sundays. Changing that would need to be done through an agreement amongst Senators, who are able to change anything about the trial with all 100 senators in agreement.

Castor said Schoen will make the opening argument on behalf of the former president, while a yet-to-be-named lawyer will likely handle the middle portion of the trial, and Castor expects to deliver the team’s closing argument.

Asked if there will be any surprises in the trial, Castor said: “It will be exciting.”