Trump rejects request from Democrats to testify at the Impeachment Trial

On Thursday, U.S. House Democrats asked former President Donald Trump to testify on oath for his impeachment trial in the Senate, calling on him to respond to their allegation that he had incited a violent mob to storm the Capitol. A Trump adviser has said that the former president is not going to testify.

Although Democrats may not have the power to force Trump's testimony, the House impeachment managers' request is part of their overall effort to put the Jan. 6 violent events on record and hold him accountable for his words.

Democrats will look to use his refusal to testify against him as they argue that the ex-president has avoided responsibility for his actions.

Hours after the Democrats’ request was revealed, Trump adviser Jason Miller dismissed the trial as “an unconstitutional proceeding” and said the former president would not testify. Separately, Trump’s lawyers denounced the request as a “public relations stunt.”

Feb. 9 begins the impeachment trial. On Jan. 6, when a mob of his supporters broke into the Capitol to interrupt the electoral vote count, Trump, the first president to be impeached twice, was charged with inciting an insurrection. Five people died.

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Trump had told his supporters before the riot to "fight like hell" to overturn his electoral defeat.

In the letter to the former president and his attorneys, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, one of the impeachment managers, asked that Trump explain why he and his team have disputed key factual allegations at the center of their case.

He asked that Trump provide testimony about his conduct “either before or during the Senate impeachment trial,” and under cross-examination, as early as Monday, Feb. 8, and not later than Thursday, Feb. 11.

The request from Raskin cites the words of Trump’s own attorneys, who in a legal brief earlier this week not only denied that Trump had incited the riot but also asserted that he had “performed admirably in his role as president, at all times doing what he thought was in the best interests of the American people.”

With that argument, Raskin said, Trump had questioned critical facts in the case “notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense.”

He said Trump should be able to testify now that he is no longer president.

Trump attorneys Bruce Castor and David Schoen responded hours later that the letter proves that Democrats “cannot prove your allegations” and that an impeachment trial is too serious “to try to play these games.”

The back-and-forth continued Thursday evening when Raskin said Trump’s refusal to testify “speaks volumes and plainly establishes an adverse inference supporting his guilt.”

“Any official accused of inciting armed violence against the government of the United States should welcome the chance to testify openly and honestly — that is, if the official had a defense,” he said in a statement.

Defense lawyers, and many Senate Republicans, have argued that the trial is unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office, even though he was impeached while he was still president. In a test vote in the Senate last week, 45 Republicans voted for an effort to dismiss the trial on those grounds.

Democrats say the Republicans are arguing process because they can’t defend the former president’s actions, and they point to the many legal scholars who have said the trial is on firm constitutional ground.

In the letter, Raskin said that if Trump refuses to appear, the executives will use his refusal in the trial against him, a similar argument put forth by House Democrats in the impeachment trial last year, when many Trump officials ignored subpoenas. Ultimately, Trump was acquitted of two charges that he abused his presidential powers by pressuring President Joe Biden to investigate the Ukrainian government.

The impeachment managers do not have the authority to subpoena witnesses now since the House has already voted to impeach him. The Senate could vote to subpoena Trump, or any other witnesses, on a simple majority vote during the trial. On Thursday, senators in both parties made it clear they would be reluctant to do so.

Shortly after Raskin’s letter was made public, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said it would be a “terrible idea” for Trump to testify. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Trump’s statements before and after the attack on the Capitol “are the most powerful evidence. His own words incriminate him. They show his guilty intent.”

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump's closest GOP allies, said he believed the letter was a "political ploy," noting that Trump was not invited or subpoenaed by Democrats to testify before the House voted on Jan. 13 to impeach him.

Asked if he thought Trump was going to testify, Graham said it was a "bad idea."

"I don't think that would be in the interest of anybody," he said.