Donald Trump’s lawyers have begun defending him at his impeachment trial, accusing Democrats of seeking to overturn the result of the 2016 election.
White House Counsel Pat Cipollone said: “The president did absolutely nothing wrong.”
President Trump’s defense will last three days and follows the Democrats’ prosecution case which ended on January 24.
Donald Trump faces two charges linked to his dealings with Ukraine.
The articles of impeachment accuse the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
President Trump is alleged to have withheld military aid to pressure the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, into starting a corruption investigation into Donald Trump’s political rival, Democrat Joe Biden, and his son Hunter.
Democrats also accuse President Trump of making a visit by Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House contingent on an investigation.
The president is charged with obstructing Congress by failing to co-operate with the House of Representatives impeachment inquiry.
He dismisses the accusations as a witch-hunt.
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The trial in the Senate will decide if Donald Trump should be removed from office. This is unlikely as the Republicans control the Senate and any such move would need a two-thirds majority.
Echoing a line heard from many Republicans, Pat Cipollone said Democrats were “asking you not only to overturn the results of the last election… they’re asking you to remove President Trump from the ballot in the election that’s occurring in approximately nine months.”
“They are asking you to do something very, very consequential and, I would submit to you … very, very dangerous,” he said.
Much of the abuse of power charge centers on a phone call in July between President Trump and President Zelenksy.
Donald Trump’s defense lawyer Mike Purpura insisted there was no quid pro quo – as asserted by the Democrats.
He said: “Zelenksy felt no pressure. President Zelensky says he felt no pressure. The House managers tell you they know better.”
In a news conference after January 25 hearing, Adam Schiff, the Democrats’ lead prosecutor, raised the disputed issue of calling witnesses.
He said: “The one question they did not address at all is why they don’t want to give the American people a fair trial, why they want this to be the first impeachment case in history without a single witness and without a single document being handed over.
“That ought to tell you everything you need to know about the strength and weaknesses of this case”.
The leader of the Democrats in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, told reporters that President Trump’s defense team had inadvertently “made a really compelling case for why the Senate should call witnesses and documents”.
