House Democrats Ask Trump to Testify Under Oath At Impeachment Trial

The House Democrats who will prosecute the case against former President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial are requesting the former president testify under oath during proceedings next week.

Thursday, February 4th 2021, 1:38 pm

By: CBS News


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The House Democrats who will prosecute the case against former President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial are requesting the former president testify under oath during proceedings next week.

Congressman Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland and the lead impeachment manager, sent a letter to Mr. Trump and his lawyers Thursday asking him to answer questions about his conduct on January 6, when a mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building.

Raskin suggested Mr. Trump provide his testimony, which would include cross-examination, as early as Monday, February 8, and no later than Thursday, February 11.

"Presidents Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton both provided testimony while in office — and the Supreme Court held just last year that you were not immune from legal process while serving as president — so there is no doubt that you can testify in these proceedings," Raskin wrote. "Indeed, whereas a sitting president might raise concerns about distraction from their official duties, that concern is obviously inapplicable here. We therefore anticipate your availability to testify."

Raskin said that if Mr. Trump declines to testify, the House impeachment managers "reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and your inaction) on January 6, 2021."

The Senate is set to convene as a court of impeachment February 9 to hear the case against Mr. Trump. The House approved a single of article of impeachment charging him with incitement of insurrection last month.

In a response to the article filed this week, Mr. Trump's lawyers argued the president was exercising his First Amendment rights when he made unfounded claims about voter fraud in the election and was not inciting violence when he urged his supporters to "fight like hell" during a rally before the assault on the Capitol. They also argue the impeachment trial is unconstitutional, as the Senate cannot try a president who is no longer in office.

Raskin said the president's answer to the article "denied many factual allegations set forth in the article of impeachment. You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense."

In their own pre-trial filing, the nine House impeachment managers said Mr. Trump was "singularly responsible" for the January 6 assault and batted down claims from Republicans that the Senate does not have the authority to hold a trial against a former president.

"President Trump's effort to extend his grip on power by fomenting violence against Congress was a profound violation of the oath he swore," they wrote. "If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a Joint Session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offense, it is hard to imagine what would be. The Framers themselves would not have hesitated to convict on these facts."

Following the January 6 attack, during which the pro-Trump mob attempted to stop Congress from counting states' electoral votes and reaffirming President Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election, the House moved swiftly to punish Mr. Trump for his role.

Democrats argue the president incited the violence at the Capitol with his fiery rhetoric in the weeks after the November 3 election and on the day of the riots. Ten Republicans joined House Democrats in it historic vote to impeach Mr. Trump, which made him the first president to be impeached twice.

First published on February 4, 2021 / 1:27 PM

© 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



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