Washington: US President Donald Trump’s lawyers plunged into his impeachment trial defence Saturday by accusing Democrats of striving to overturn the 2016 elections. They argued that investigations of Trump’s dealings with Ukraine have not been a fact-finding mission but a politically motivated effort to drive him from the White House.
“They’re here to perpetrate the most massive interference in an election in American history,” White House counsel Pat Cipollone told senators.” And we can’t allow that to happen.”
Trump’s legal team’s arguments in the rare Saturday session were aimed at rebutting allegations that the president abused his power when he asked Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and then obstructed Congress as it tried to investigate.
The lawyers are mounting a wide-ranging, aggressive defence asserting an expansive view of presidential powers and portraying Trump as besieged by political opponents determined to ensure he won’t be reelected this November.
“They’re asking you to tear up all the ballots across this country on your own initiative, take that decision away from the American people,” Cipollone said.
Though Trump is the one on trial, the defence team made clear that it intends to paint the impeachment case as a mere continuation of the investigations that have shadowed the president since before he took office – including one into allegations of Russian election interference on his behalf.
Trump attorney Jay Sekulow suggested Democrats were investigating the president over Ukraine simply because they couldn’t bring him down for Russia.
“That – for this,” said Sekulow, holding up a copy of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report, which he accused Democrats of attempting to ‘relitigate’.
That report detailed ties between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia but did not allege a criminal conspiracy to tip the election.
From the White House, Trump tweeted his response: “Any fair-minded person watching the Senate trial today (Saturday) would be able to see how unfairly I have been treated and that this is indeed the totally partisan Impeachment Hoax that EVERYBODY, including the Democrats, truly knows it is.” His team made only a two-hour presentation, reserving the heart of its case for Monday.
Acquittal appears likely, given that Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate, and a two-thirds vote would be required for conviction and removal from office. Republican senators already eager to clear Trump said Saturday that the White House presentation had shredded the Democratic case. Several of the senators shook hands with Trump’s lawyers after their presentation. The visitors’ galleries were filled, onlookers watching for the historic proceedings and the rare weekend session of Senate.
AP
