Fri 05 February 2021:
The attorneys representing President Donald Trump in his Senate impeachment trial said Thursday he will not testify at the proceedings next week, dismissing demands by House Democrats for his testimony as a “public relations stunt.”
The move comes after lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin sent a letter to Trump’s attorneys asking Trump to testify either before or during the trial next week.
“We would propose that you provide your testimony (of course including cross-examination) as early as Monday, February 8, 2021, and not later than Thursday, February 11, 2021,” said Raskin. “We would be pleased to arrange such testimony at a mutually convenient time and place,” Raskin wrote in the letter.
Attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen quickly dismissed the prospect of any testimony by Trump and called the request a “public relations stunt.”
They told Raskin he could not prove allegations against the former president, who the legal team said “is now a private citizen.”
“We are in receipt of your latest public relations stunt. As you certainly know, there is no such thing as a negative inference in this unconstitutional proceeding,” they said in a brief statement.
Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, also told National Public Radio’s Domenico Montanaro that Trump will not testify in the trial.
“The president will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding,” he said.
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 Trump for his role.
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