Donald Trump's lawyers began their arguments on Saturday after the Democrats' long indictment for the dismissal of the American president, charged with abuse of power and obstructing the smooth running of Congress.

"When you hear the facts (...) you will see that the president has done absolutely nothing wrong," said Pat Cipollone, a White House lawyer, who spoke to Congress in a brief exceptionally organized session on a Saturday.

"The biggest election interference in American history"

The objective of the lawyers of the American billionaire is to demonstrate that he has not committed an abuse of power and that he does not pose a threat to democracy, contrary to what his Democratic accusers concluded.

In a Senate controlled by the Republicans (53 seats out of 100), the acquittal of the 45th President of the United States, the third in American history to stand trial on removal, is little doubt. But less than 300 days before the presidential election, the debates are also a battle for public opinion.

Faced with senators eager to leave Washington for the weekend, particularly the Democratic candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren eager to find the campaign stands in Iowa, the defenders of the president were brief: barely two hours.

But like the accusation, the billionaire's lawyers will have a total of 24 hours, spread over three days.

The presentation on Saturday was more like a "trailer", in the words of the defense, before the main course that will constitute the intervention of the famous constitutionalist Alan Dershowitz, who was, among others, the lawyer of OJ Simpson and financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Faced with the senators, Pat Cipollone accused the political opponents of the president of seeking to organize "the greatest interference in the elections in American history".

"They ask you to (remove the president) without any proof (...) They ask you to tear up all the ballots in this country," he said.

"Let the people decide"

"We cannot accept this," he added, promising to carry out the second part of this historic trial "efficiently and quickly" so that all Americans can turn to the electoral meeting of the 3rd. November. "Let the people decide, that's what the founding fathers wanted," he concluded.

The House of Representatives, in the hands of the Democrats, indicted the president on December 18.

Proof that Donald Trump can count on a "Grand Old Party" at attention, not a single Republican had supported this vote of "impeachment".

On Saturday, supporters of the president took the front line. "Two hours of truth largely crush 20 hours of speculation and rumors," tweeted elected Republican Jim Jordan in reference to arguments made by Democrats since Wednesday.

But in a very divided America, there is nothing to indicate that these hearings really move the lines, among elected officials as well as among voters.

"It will be interesting to see, when it is all over, how many Americans have watched both the prosecution and the defense," said David Axelrod, former adviser to Barack Obama.

"Or will it be like the main part of our political debate, with people who only listen to the arguments which reinforce them in their convictions?".

With AFP


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