Washington: Former US President Donald Trump will not testify under oath in the Senate impeachment trial set to begin next week, his attorneys Bruce Castor Jr and David Schoen said in response to a letter from the lead House prosecutor.
“We are in receipt of your latest public relations stunt,” the attorneys said in a letter on Thursday. “The use of our Constitution to bring a purported impeachment proceeding is much too serious to try to play games.”
Earlier on Thursday, Congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager, invited Trump to provide testimony under oath in the impeachment trial on events related to the Capitol riot on January 6.
The US House of Representatives Articles of Impeachment charge Trump with “inciting insurrection” during a January 6 rally, where he urged supporters to protest lawmakers accepting electoral slates from battleground US states that Trump claims were invalid and cost him election victory.
Opening arguments in the Trump impeachment trial are set to begin on Monday, featuring nine US House Democrats named as impeachment managers.
