Donald Trump’s lawyers have rejected House Democrats’ request for the former president to testify under oath in a Senate impeachment trial that will start in earnest next week.
Mr Trump was impeached last month in a bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives on a charge of inciting an insurrection in connection with the January 6 siege on the US Capitol, when a mob of his supporters stormed the legislative complex in an attack that left five people dead. The attack interrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral college victory.
Jamie Raskin, the House Democrat who will prosecute the case as lead impeachment manager, sent a letter to Mr Trump and his lawyers on Thursday requesting that he provide testimony under oath, either before or during the trial, which is set to start on Tuesday.