What did the briefs say?
The 171-page brief submitted by Mr Trump's legal team is the first comprehensive defence of the president, ahead of the trial beginning in earnest. It sets out to undercut the charges against Mr Trump, branding them "frivolous and dangerous" and arguing that they don't constitute either a crime or an impeachable offence. "House Democrats settled on two flimsy Articles of Impeachment that allege no crime or violation of law whatsoever - much less 'high Crimes and Misdemeanours' as required by the Constitution," it said. "They do not remotely approach the constitutional threshold for removing a President from office." At the same time, an opposing brief from House managers - all Democrats - accused Mr Trump of using his "presidential powers to pressure a vulnerable foreign partner to interfere in our elections for his own benefit". "In doing so, he jeopardised our national security and our democratic self-governance," it added. "He then used his presidential powers to orchestrate a cover-up unprecedented in the history of our republic."What are the charges?
First, he's accused of seeking help from Ukraine's government to help himself get re-elected in November. It is claimed that, during a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he held back military aid in exchange for an investigation into Hunter Biden - the son of Mr Trump's political rival, Joe Biden, and a former member of the board of Ukrainian energy firm Burisma. The second allegation is that, by refusing to allow White House staff to testify at the first impeachment hearings last year, Mr Trump obstructed Congress. President Trump denies the charges against him.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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