On Saturday, House Democrats released a lengthy outline of their legal case involving the impeachment of President Donald Trump as the Senate prepares to begin his trial on Tuesday.
The 111-page brief provides a number of arguments Democrats say prove that the president abused his office and therefore should be removed.
They argue that Trump committed high crimes and misdemeanors, the constitutional standard for impeachment allegations, in abusing his power and obstructing Congress. The brief lays out the alleged case against the president that House impeachment managers intend to present to a GOP-controlled Senate.
The Democrats’ case centers around allegations that President Trump is guilty of attempting to pressure a foreign government to investigate a 2020 political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden. They say the only question left to answer is whether senators will fairly mete out justice.
“The evidence overwhelmingly establishes that he is guilty of both,” says the brief, as by The Hill.
“The only remaining question is whether the members of the Senate will accept and carry out the responsibility placed on them by the Framers of our Constitution and their constitutional Oaths,” the brief continues.
“History will judge each Senator’s willingness to rise above partisan differences, view the facts honestly, and defend the Constitution.”
The brief, which was complied by seven Democrats serving as impeachment managers, claims the president’s conduct is “the Framers’ worst nightmare” in arguing for his removal.
“President Trump’s ongoing pattern of misconduct demonstrates that he is an immediate threat to the Nation and the rule of law. It is imperative that the Senate convict and remove him from office now, and permanently bar him from holding federal office,” they write.
Later on Saturday, the White House released a six-page brief of its own refuting the House allegations and noting that there is nothing contained within their own brief that suggests the president violated any laws.
The president’s legal team wrote that “the Articles of Impeachment submitted by House Democrats are a dangerous attack on the right of the American people to freely choose their president.”
The team added: “This is a brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election. The highly partisan and reckless obsession with impeaching the President began the day he was inaugurated and continues to this day.”
It also states that “the Articles of Impeachment are constitutionally invalid on their face” and in fact, “are an affront to the Constitution, our democratic institutions, and the American people.”