Donald Trump’s lawyers urge US Senate to reject ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ impeachment

Former US president Donald Trump’s defence on Friday, urged the US Senate to reject “blatantly unconstitutional” impeachment and denounces the trial as “act of political vengeance,” reported AFP. 

Counsel Michael van der Veen told the Senate, “The article of impeachment now before the Senate is an unjust and blatantly unconstitutional act of political vengeance.”

“This impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence, and the interests of the American people,” he added, urging the 100 senator-jurors to “promptly and decisively vote to reject it.”

Trump’s lawyers say they will use as little as three or four hours to state their own case, when under the rules they are allowed up to 16 hours spread across two days.

Van der Veen said, “Like every other politically motivated witch hunt the left has engaged in over the past four years, this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence and the interests of the American people.”

Democratic impeachment managers on Thursday rested their case after two days of often emotional presentations. The former US president has been charged by the impeachment team with stoking an insurrection after losing re-election to Joe Biden on November 3.

According to the case, the former president began to lay the groundwork for the riot within weeks of refusing to concede with claims that he’d only lost because of mass voter fraud.