Former President Donald Trump will not testify in the upcoming Senate impeachment Trial, Trump advisor Jason Miller said Thursday.
“The President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding,” Miller said according to CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins.
“The President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding,” Trump adviser Jason Miller says after House impeachment managers called on him to do so.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) February 4, 2021
House impeachment managers sent a letter to Trump Thursday formally requesting that he testify under oath in the impeachment trial. The former president had until Friday at 5 PM to respond. (RELATED: Matt Gaetz Says He Would Resign From Congress In Order To Defend Trump In Impeachment Trial)
“Two days ago, you filed an Answer in which you denied many factual allegations set forth in the article of impeachment,” wrote the Democrats’ leading impeachment manager, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin. “You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense.”
“In light of your disputing these factual allegations, I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, concerning your conduct on January 6, 2021,” Raskin said.
The letter came in response to a Tuesday brief submitted by Trump’s legal team, in which they argued the former president’s speech before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol building was protected under the first amendment and did not amount to incitement.
House Democrats and ten House Republicans voted on Jan. 13 to impeach Trump, arguing that he incited an insurrection. If he is convicted by the Senate, Trump will be permanently barred from running for federal office.