The 116-page Trial Memorandum sought to undercut charges that the Republican president abused his power and obstructed Congress, and constituted Trump’s first comprehensive defence before his Senate trial begins in earnest on Tuesday.
Under the Republican proposal, the Senate would have to vote later on whether to even allow materials collected by the House during its impeachment investigation to be admitted as part of the trial. The memo’s executive summary asserted that the House Democrats’ “novel theory of ‘abuse of power’” was not an impeachable offence and supplanted the US Constitution’s standard of “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanours.”
“They want to use impeachment to interfere in the 2020 election,” the memo said. “Put simply, Democrats have no response to the President’s record of achievement in restoring prosperity to the American economy, rebuilding America’s military, and confronting America’s adversaries abroad.” While Trump’s legal papers laid out extensive arguments as to why he did not commit a crime, the General Accounting Office, the watchdog arm of Congress, said last week that Trump did commit a crime by withholding U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, money that was ultimately sent after a brief pause.
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