President Trump’s lawyers launch their defense Saturday after three long days of House Democratic impeachment managers laying out arguments that the President abused his power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstructed Congress, reports The Hill.
The defense team has been coy about what exactly they’ll say on the Senate floor, but they’re expected to argue Trump should be acquitted because House Democrats have not alleged he committed any crimes.
Trump’s legal team said their remarks will be relatively brief on Saturday, before resuming Monday with a longer presentation. The abbreviated weekend proceedings, with Sunday off, serve to accommodate lawmakers’ schedules and are perhaps a nod to Trump’s view that Saturday is “death valley” for television ratings.
In a brief filed Monday, Trump’s lawyers — led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow — focused on an argument contested among legal experts that the articles do not allege impeachable conduct because they do not contain accusations of a crime. The defense attorneys also characterized House Democrats as trying to impeach Trump over a foreign policy disagreement.
The White House has consistently described Trump as the victim of a partisan and unfair effort by Democrats to damage him ahead of the 2020 election, a point his lawyers hammered home during their first appearance on the Senate floor Tuesday during debate over the trial rules.
It’s possible the President’s defense will evolve, however, given the arguments over the past few days by Democrats. Though the GOP-controlled Senate is widely expected to acquit Trump at the end of the trial, Saturday’s proceedings will nevertheless present a major test for the President’s legal team.
They are simultaneously tasked with knocking down Democrats’ argument and presenting a strong enough defense of Trump to convince moderate GOP senators that additional witnesses are not needed at the trial.
“I think that they have a big problem, which is the facts are essentially uncontested,” argued Neil Eggleston, who served as White House counsel under former President Obama. “Attack mode is really the only option they have left and I think we will continue to hear it.”
But sources close to the White House insisted that administration officials weren’t troubled by what they heard from House Democrats this week.
“They’re kind of numb to it,” said one source. “No new evidence, no smoking gun.”
Republicans are largely in lock-step about avoiding additional witnesses and the prolonged fight it would entail, but Trump’s defense team will be under pressure to hit the right tone and secure support from moderate GOP senators. The President’s team has been in close coordination with members of the Senate GOP caucus as recently as Thursday as it prepares its defense.
The defense team did not include any audio or visual aids in their arguments against amendments to subpoena witnesses and documents, instead seeking to dismiss the proposals as quickly as possible.
Alan Dershowitz, a proponent of the argument that impeachment requires a crime, is expected to speak for roughly an hour on the Senate floor during the allotted time for the defense, though not until Monday.
Kenneth Starr, a former independent counsel who investigated then-President Clinton, is also part of Trump’s legal team, along with Robert Ray, Starr’s successor as independent counsel, and former Florida attorney general and White House adviser Pam Bondi.
It’s unclear whether the defense will use all 24 hours allotted over three days to make opening arguments.
Trump has been happy with the performances of his legal team thus far, after his attorneys offered a fiery defense coupled with attacks on Democrats earlier in the week. The President is likely to be closely watching the proceedings as they get underway Saturday and may even weigh in on Twitter.
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