In their legal brief responding to the article of impeachment, Trump’s lawyers argue the trial is « in violation of the Constitution. »
Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump in his have released a brief arguing the trial is an unconstitutional overreach by Congress while denying the former president incited rioters to attack the Capitol on January 6. In a preview of their arguments for next week’s trial on the single charge of « incitement of insurrection, » lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen wrote that the Senate does not have the power to try a president who is no longer in office, and said the claim that Mr. Trump incited the attack has no merit. « The Senate of the United States lacks jurisdiction over the 45th President because he holds no public office from which he can be removed, and the Constitution limits the authority of the Senate in cases of impeachment to removal from office as the prerequisite active remedy allowed the Senate under our Constitution, » Schoen and Castor wrote in the 14-page memo. The two also argue that the House « deprived [Mr. Trump] of due process » by impeaching him without holding any hearings beforehand, thus denying him the opportunity to present his own evidence. The House impeached Mr. Trump in a bipartisan vote on January 13, just one week after the attack on the Capitol.
