January 19, 2020

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s legal team issued a fiery response ahead of opening arguments in his impeachment trial Saturday while House Democrats laid out their case in forceful fashion, saying the president had betrayed public trust with behavior that was the “worst nightmare” of the founding fathers.

The dueling statements previewed arguments both sides intend to make once Trump’s impeachment trial begins in earnest on Tuesday. Their challenge will be to make a case that appeals to senators who will render the verdict and for an American public bracing for a presidential election in 10 months.

The House’s 111-page brief pulled together the private and public testimony of a dozen witnesses -- ambassadors and national security officials at high levels of government -- who raised concerns about the president’s actions with Ukraine. Stripped of legalese and structured in plain English, the document underscored the extent to which the impeachment proceedings are a political rather than conventional legal process. The Trump team similarly offered a taste of the rhetoric expected to be deployed by the president’s defenders in the Senate.

Read more:

https://apnews.com/69ef7e8cedb8951dc7995ddb51af79e1