President Trump's team of attorneys, personal and White House counsel, have released their official brief on impeachment ahead of the start of the Senate trial on Tuesday. The memorandum is 110-pages long and argues these main points: President Trump did nothing wrong, the two articles of impeachment against the him are constitutionally illegitimate and that the Senate should work quickly to dismiss them.
"The Articles of Impeachment now before the Senate are an affront to the Constitution and to our democratic institutions. The Articles themselves—and the rigged process that brought them here—are a brazenly political act by House Democrats that must be rejected. They debase the grave power of impeachment and disdain the solemn responsibility that power entails. Anyone having the most basic respect for the sovereign will of the American people would shudder at the enormity of casting a vote to impeach a duly elected President," the brief states. "By contrast, upon tallying their votes, House Democrats jeered until they were scolded into silence by the Speaker. The process that brought the articles here violated every precedent and every principle of fairness followed in impeachment inquiries for more than 150 years. Even so, all that House Democrats have succeeded in proving is that the President did absolutely nothing wrong. All of this is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn."
Trial Memorandum of President Donald J. Trump by Katie Pavlich on Scribd
The brief comes after attorneys filed a 7-page answer to the articles over the weekend.
"The Articles of Impeachment submitted by House Democrats are a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their President. This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election—now just months away. The highly partisan and reckless obsession with impeaching the President began the day he was inaugurated and continues to this day," they stated.
During a phone call with reporters Monday morning, White House officials close to the process and working with the legal team argued this is the first time President Trump has been able to properly defend himself. Further, they've stated that the entire impeachment "sham" has been based "assumption, presumption and hearsay" which would "never be admitted in court." Officials and President Trump's attorneys say the articles of impeachment passed by the House could be "swiftly rejected" by the Senate.
Monday morning, President Trump weighed in on demands from Democrats to call new witnesses in the Senate trial after failing to do so in the House.
"They didn’t want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way!" he tweeted.
Meanwhile Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham is weighing in and holding Democrats accountable for their sloppy process, which they now want corrected the upper chamber.
Senate Judiciary Chairman and the President's closest confidant, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) joined FOX News Sunday for an exclusive interview. Sen Graham reacts to the Democrat's trial brief saying the President's conduct is the "framers' worst nightmare." #FNS #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/mppEZ0aAgH
— FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) January 19, 2020