Former President Donald Trump refused on Thursday to testify in his looming impeachment trial after being called by House prosecutors to give evidence, branding the process “unconstitutional.”
Mr. Trump’s lawyers ridiculed the request in a letter by lead House prosecutor Jamie Raskin to answer questions over the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as a “public relations stunt.”
“Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations” against Mr. Trump, attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen said in their reply.
While the attorneys did not say whether he would testify, a senior adviser to Mr. Trump, Jason Miller, said flatly that he would not.
“The President will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding,” Mr. Miller said.
The refusal came five days before the trial of the former U.S. leader on one charge of “incitement to insurrection” opens in the U.S. Senate.
Mr. Trump is accused of fomenting the attack by his supporters on the U.S. legislature one month ago.
Mr. Raskin said the trial will prove “Trump’s conduct was indefensible.”
“His immediate refusal to testify speaks volumes and plainly establishes an adverse inference supporting his guilt,” he said in a statement.
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