Former President Donald Trump’s lawyers on Thursday rejected a request from Democrats to testify at his impeachment trial in the US Senate next week, dismissing their invitation as a “public relations stunt”.
Democrats in the House of Representatives accuse Trump of inciting insurrection when he urged supporters to “fight” his election defeat before they stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, fought with police and sent lawmakers scrambling for safety.
Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer. “The president will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding,” Trump adviser Jason Miller told Reuters. In an open letter, Trump’s attorneys, Bruce Castor and David Schoen, called the request a “public relations stunt.”
Trump’s lawyers and most Republican senators have challenged the constitutionality of the trial. They have said the Senate does not have the authority to hear the case because Trump has already left office and cannot be removed.
Such an argument would allow Republican senators – who hold half the seats in the chamber – to vote against Trump’s conviction on procedural conccrns instead of dircctly supporting his comments.
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