Donald Trump's legal team calls for 'swift' acquittal and brand impeachment 'perversion' of Constitution

Donald Trump’s legal team has demanded that the president is immediately acquitted by the Senate as they branded his impeachment a “dangerous perversion of the Constitution”.

In a brief that was submitted before hearings of only the third impeachment trial in US history begin on Tuesday, they called for the articles to be rejected “swiftly” and “roundly” condemned.

Mr Trump was charged with abusing his presidential power by asking Ukraine to investigate Democratic political rival Joe Biden, and of obstructing Congress as it probed his conduct.

"All of this is a dangerous perversion of the Constitution that the Senate should swiftly and roundly condemn," the lawyers wrote. "The articles should be rejected and the president should immediately be acquitted."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday proposed a condensed, two-day calendar for each side to give opening arguments in the trial, ground rules that are raising objections from Democrats on the eve of the landmark proceedings.

The Republican leader outlined the process in a four-page resolution that will be voted on as one of the first orders of business when senators convene Tuesday. It also pushes off any votes on witnesses until later in the process, rather than up front, as Democrats demanded.

After the four days of opening arguments - two days per side - senators will be allowed up to 16 hours for questions to the prosecution and defence, followed by four hours of debate.

Only then will there be votes on calling other witnesses.

The brief from Mr Trump's lawyers offered the most detailed look at the lines of defence they intend to use against Democratic efforts to convict the president and oust him from office over his dealings with Ukraine.

It is meant as a counter to a filing two days ago from House Democrats that summarised weeks of testimony from more than a dozen witnesses in laying out the impeachment case.

The 110-page brief from the White House, plus the House Democratic response, come as the Senate is considering 12-hour opening sessions for the rare trial taking place in an election year, with some of the very senators running to replace Trump as president sitting as jurors.

The White House filing shifted the tone towards a more legal response but still echoed with campaign-style slogans. It hinged on Mr Trump's assertion he did nothing wrong and did not commit a crime.

Senators are poised for only the third trial of its kind in US history, but first they must contend with a rules fight and whether to allow new witnesses.

In their own filing Monday, House prosecutors replied to Mr Trump's not-guilty plea by making fresh demands for a fair trial in the Senate.

"President Trump asserts that his impeachment is a partisan `hoax.' He is wrong," the prosecutors wrote.

The White House document released Monday says the two articles of impeachment brought against the president do not amount to impeachable offences.

It asserts that the impeachment inquiry, cantered on Mr Trump's request that Ukraine's president open an investigation into Democratic rival Mr Biden, was never about finding the truth.

In a brief filed earlier, House Democrats called Mr Trump's conduct the "worst nightmare" of the framers of the Constitution.

"President Donald J. Trump used his official powers to pressure a foreign government to interfere in a United States election for his personal political gain," the House prosecutors wrote, "and then attempted to cover up his scheme by obstructing Congress's investigation into his misconduct."

But Trump's team contended Monday that even if Trump were to have abused his power in withholding the Ukraine military assistance, it would not be impeachable because it did not violate a specific criminal statute.

The president's team issued several opinions from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to back up its claims and support its position that it had not illegally defied Congress.

Opening arguments are expected within days following a debate Tuesday over rules, including about whether witnesses are to be called in the trial.

Mr Trump signalled his opposition to witnesses, tweeting on Monday: "They didn't want John Bolton and others in the House. They were in too much of a rush. Now they want them all in the Senate. Not supposed to be that way!"

This was a reference to former national security adviser John Bolton. House Democrats wanted him to testify but chose not to pursue a subpoena and risk an extended struggle in court.

Mr Bolton has since said he is willing to testify in the Senate if subpoenaed.

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