Democrats call on Trump to testify under oath at impeachment

Democrats sent former President Donald Trump a letter on Thursday calling on him to testify under oath at his upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate, after the president maintained a defiant tone in opening legal briefs.

"You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offence," congressman Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager, wrote in the letter.

Mr Trump's lawyers blasted the request as a "public relations stunt" in a response letter obtained by The New York Times and told the paper the former president will not be testifying.

"Your letter only confirms what is known to everyone: you cannot prove your allegations against the 45th President of the United States, who is now a private citizen," they wrote. "The use of our Constitution to bring a purported impeachment proceeding is much too serious to try to play these games."

The House impeachment managers asked the president to testify before or during the trial, said he would be subject to cross-examination, and noted past presidents like Gerald Ford and Bill Clinton testified while in office.

"If you decline this invitation, we reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions (and inaction) on January 6, 2021," they added in the letter.

The impeachment trial kicks off next week, but opening briefs have given a preview of how the president will argue in his defence. His lawyers responded to the articles of impeachment and insisted the impeachment of the former president is unconstitutional, but also unnecessary, writing that, "At all times, Donald J. Trump fully and faithfully executed his duties as president".

They've also argued falsely that the legality of the presidential election is still up for debate. As a result, in their opinion, the former president can't be penalised for spreading false information about the contest or influencing rioters seeking to overturn the election.

"Under the convenient guise of Covid-19 pandemic ‘safeguards’, states election laws and procedures were changed by local politicians or judges without the necessary approvals from state legislatures," the lawyers wrote. "Insufficient evidence exists upon which a reasonable jurist could conclude that the 45th president’s statements were accurate or not, and he therefore denies they were false."

While in office, Mr Trump said multiple times he was willing to testify under oath as part of another investigation, the Mueller probe. He later agreed only to a series of written questions, as the former president's lawyers worried the legal requirement to tell the truth under oath would be a "perjury trap" for the famously freewheeling president, who made more than 30,000 false or misleading claims while in office.

If the president does end up testifying, and if he perjures himself, it could carry serious consequences including criminal indictment. President Richard Nixon's chief of staff, HR Haldeman, and his attorney general, John Mitchell, both served prison time for perjury before the Senate Watergate Committee.