Former US President Donald Trump’s lawyers will take the Senate floor on Friday to rebut his Democratic-led impeachment for inciting insurrection, with Republican lawmakers then widely expected to vote to acquit, reported AFP. Following two days of often emotional presentations, Democratic impeachment managers on Thursday rested their case. Trump’s lawyers will now get a chance to respond and are expected to make arguments brief, hastening the Senate verdict.

One of the lawyers, David Schoen said, “There’s no reason for us to be out there a long time. As I said from the start of this thing, this trial never should have happened.”

Trump 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.

Impeachment managers said that Trump, who has never expressed remorse for his encouragement of the violent crowd, is so dangerous he should be barred from holding office again.

However, Trump’s lawyers are set to argue that his speech was rhetorical and that he cannot be held responsible for the actions of the mob. According them,  the trial itself is unconstitutional because Trump is now out of office, although the Senate rejected this claim earlier this week.

Biden said on Thursday that evidence against his predecessor, including grim, never before seen footage of the January 6 riot, was so strong it could change “some minds” in the Senate.

A two-thirds majority is needed to convict, meaning 17 Republicans would need to join the Senate’s 50 Democrats.

Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin pointed out that the Republican leader had been encouraging extremism even in the lead-up to Election Day.

Raskin said, “This pro-Trump insurrection did not spring out of thin air. This was not the first time Donald Trump had inflamed and incited a mob. Is there any political leader in this room who believes that if he’s ever allowed by the Senate to get back into the Oval Office Donald Trump would stop inciting violence to get his way?”