Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Trump's lawyers plan to make an aggressively dismissive case when the Senate impeachment trial opens this week.
Driving the news: "President Trump categorically and unequivocally denies each and every allegation in both articles of impeachment," Pat Cipollone, the White House counsel, and Jay Sekulow, Trump’s personal lawyer, wrote in a seven-page response to Democrats released yesterday.
- The document calls the articles of impeachment "constitutionally invalid on their face," and "a dangerous ... brazen and unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the 2016 election and interfere with the 2020 election."
The length and tone contrast with the 111-page, 319-footnote "Trial Memorandum" by the seven Dems who are House impeachment managers.
- "The evidence overwhelmingly establishes that he is guilty," the Democrats write. "The only remaining question is whether the members of the Senate will accept and carry out the responsibility placed on them by the Framers of our Constitution and their constitutional Oaths."
- "President Trump's conduct is the Framers’ worst nightmare."
Why it matters: The Trump lawyers' blanket statements, and the brevity of their arguments, suggest they have confidence that the Senate Republicans won’t let the president down when their big loyalty test comes.
- Smart brevity on the strategy: Concede nothing, admit nothing, apologize for nothing. Talk for TV. And don’t get into the weeds.
🥊 The most extraordinary line from the document, "THE HONORABLE DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, HEREBY RESPONDS":
- "The President's actions on the July 25, 2019, telephone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine ... were constitutional, perfectly legal, completely appropriate, and taken in furtherance of our national interest."
Reality check: The Government Accountability Office found that the administration broke the law by withholding Ukraine aid — funds that impeachment witnesses said were in the interest of U.S. national security.
- Witnesses argued that the campaign to pressure Ukraine to investigate the Bidens was a "domestic political errand," as Fiona Hill put it.
- Rudy himself has said he was acting as the president's personal agent.
Go deeper: