Name: Senate impeachment trial day 5: What to know
Uploaded: 2020-01-27
Duration: 5 min 53 s
Description: President Trump’s legal team took to the podium for the first time to present his defense.

Pursuant to the provisions of Senate resolution 483, the counsel for the president have 24 hours to make the presentation of their case. The Senate will now hear you. [ MUSIC ] We're going to focus today on two points. You heard the House manager speak. For nearly 24 hours, over 3 days, we don't anticipate using that much time. We don't believe that they have come anywhere close to meeting their burden for what they're asking you to do. In fact. We believe that when you hear the facts, and that's what we intend to cover today, the facts. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] You will find that the president did absolutely nothing wrong. And what we intend to do today, and we'll have more presentations in greater detail on Monday But what we intend to do today is go through their record that they established in the house. And we intend to show you some of the evidence that they induced in the house that they decided over there three days and 24 hours. That they didn't have enough time or made a decision not to show you. And every time you see one of these pieces of evidence, ask yourself why didn't I see that in the first three days? They had it, It came out of their process. Why didn't they show that to the center? And I think that's an important question. Because as house managers, [ MUSIC ] really, their goal should be to give you all of the facts. Because they're asking you to do Something very, very consequential and I would submit to you, to use a word that Mr. Schiff used a lot. Very, very dangerous. And that's the second point that I'd asked you to keep in mind today. They're asking you Not only to overturn the results of the last election. But as I've said before, they're asking you to remove President Trump from the ballot in an election that's occurring in approximately nine months. They're asking you [ MUSIC ] Tear up all of the balance across this country on your own initiative. Take that decision away from the American people. And I don't think they spent one minute of their 24 hours. Talking to you, about the consequences of that for our country. [ SOUND ] So the President was given a choice, of participating in. A process that was going to already have the outcome determined. The speaker had already said articles impeachment going to be drafted. And were there were no plans to hear from any fact witnesses. That's not due process and that's why the President declined to participate in That process because the Judiciary Committee had already decided they're going to accept an ex parte record developed in manager shift process. And there was no point in participating in that from the time of the September 4 press conference. Until the judiciary committee began marking up articles of impeachment on December 11th, lasted 78 days. [ MUSIC ] It's the fastest investigatory process for a presidential impeachment in history. And for 71 days of that process. For 71 days of the hearings and the taking of deposition, hearing testimony, the President was completely locked out. He couldn't be represented by counsel. He couldn't cross examine witnesses. He couldn't present the evidence. He couldn't present witnesses for 71 of the 78. That's not due process. [ MUSIC ] And it goes to a point that Mr. Cippollone raised earlier. Why would you have a process like that? What does that tell you about the process? That's all we have for today. We ask you out of respect To think about, think about [ MUSIC ] whether what you've heard, would really suggest anybody, anything other, that would be completely irresponsible abuse of power, to do what they're asking you to do. [ MUSIC .] To stop an election to interfere in the election, and the remove the President of the United States from the ballot, let the people decide for themselves. That's what the founders wanted. That's what we should all want. And with that, I thank you for your attention and I look forward seeing you on Monday. [ MUSIC ]

Senate impeachment trial day 5: What to know

Politics

President Trump’s legal team presented his defense.

President Trump’s legal team took to the podium for the first time to present his defense.