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In the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, the ex-president's defense lawyers rejected the accusations with a bow and arrow.

It is an unjust, unconstitutional and politically motivated process, said lawyer Michael van der Veen on Friday.

In addition, Trump did not call for violence in his speech immediately before his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6th.

The Democrats' claims that the Republican incited the protesters were "absurd and monstrous lies," the lawyer said at the beginning of the Senate defense plea.

Trump has always stood up for "law and order" as president and never called for violence, said the lawyer.

The criticized statements in his speech were "ordinary political statements" covered by the right to freedom of expression, said van der Veen.

Trying to selectively restrict freedom of expression is illegal, he said.

Trump had incited his supporters at a rally on January 6th that the election victory had been stolen from him.

Among other things, he said: "If you don't fight like the devil, you will have no more land."

Trump's attorneys have two days to respond to House prosecutors' arguments on Wednesday and Thursday.

According to media reports, however, they do not want to exhaust their time.

This could lead to a final vote on impeachment in the Senate as early as the weekend.

So far it looks like an acquittal for the Republican Trump.

The Democrats hope for a conviction and want to ban Trump for future political offices at the federal level.

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Another defense attorney for Trump, David Schoen, accused the House of Representatives of relying on unconfirmed media reports and manipulated evidence to harm the ex-president.

Schoen criticized that the prosecutors based their presentations on Trump quotes that were deliberately taken out of context.

To defend Trump's January 6 call to fight, lawyers showed senators dozens of video clips from the past few years in which prominent Democrats called on Trump to “fight” and demand his impeachment.

"Fight hard for the change," said Senator Elizabeth Warren in a clip.

"I'm not afraid of a fight," said the former presidential candidate on another video.

An older video of the pop singer Madonna, who talks about blowing up the White House, showed the defenders twice to underline their argument.

"Any political statement should be protected, equally for all of us," demanded lawyer van der Veen.

Senate sees procedures as constitutional

He stressed that the process was unconstitutional because Trump had already left office.

The Democrats are only concerned with "trying to disqualify their political opponents".

The majority of the Senate decided on Tuesday that the procedure initiated during Trump's term of office was constitutional.

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On January 6, supporters of the elected president violently stormed the Capitol.

Congress met there to officially confirm the election victory of Trump's successor Joe Biden.

Five people were killed in the riots, including a police officer.

The Democrats therefore accuse him of “inciting a riot” and have initiated impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.

The impeachment process is managed and decided in the Senate.

The Congress Chamber takes on the role of a court.

To be convicted, 17 Republicans would have to join the 50 Democrats in the Senate.

Only six Republican senators voted with the Democrats in the vote on constitutionality.

The prosecutors set out their allegations against Trump on Wednesday and Thursday using dramatic video recordings and a meticulous retelling of the attack on the Capitol.

They accuse Trump of having prepared the ground for the attack with his election fraud allegations for months and ultimately having deliberately instigated and orchestrated the outbreak of violence.

Prosecutors also accused Trump of showing no remorse and of later calling his statements at the January 6 rally "perfectly appropriate".

They argue that Trump needs to be held accountable by the Senate so that he cannot call for violence again in the future.

The threat from fanatical Trump supporters persists, they warned.