- They will argue that the two articles of impeachment against Trump charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress are constitutionally invalid and should be tossed out.
- They're expected to focus heavily on former Vice President Joe Biden and unfounded allegations of corruption against him, as well as discredited conspiracy theories about Ukrainian interference in the 2016 election.
- Scroll down to follow Insider's live coverage of the blockbuster event.
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Trump's lawyers are expected to give a masterclass in disinformation during opening arguments in Saturday's impeachment trial
President Donald Trump's lawyers will take center stage Saturday as they begin opening arguments in his historic impeachment trial.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump addresses U.S mayors in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
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President Donald Trump's lawyers will take center stage Saturday as they begin their opening arguments in his historic impeachment trial.
Trump was impeached last month for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Both articles of impeachment relate to his efforts to coerce Ukraine to launch politically motivated investigations targeting former Vice President Joe Biden, a 2020 Democratic frontrunner and Trump's political rival, and the Democratic Party as a whole.
While doing so, the president withheld $391 million in vital military aid to Ukraine, as well as a White House meeting that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky desperately sought and still hasn't gotten.
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Beginning at 10 a.m. ET, Trump's defense team will lay out what they say is a preview of "coming attractions" as they argue that the charges against him are constitutionally invalid and should be tossed out.
The Trump team's opening arguments come after three days of opening arguments from seven impeachment managers, lawmakers from the House of Representatives who act as prosecutors in Trump's impeachment trial. The group is led by Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which oversaw majority of the impeachment hearings against Trump last year.
C-SPAN and TV networks are relying on the Senate's live feed of the trial.
C-SPAN is airing the trial at cspan.org .
Insider will embed a livestream of the trial below when it begins.
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Scroll down to follow our live coverage of the blockbuster event.
Heres a summary of whats happened so far
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AP Photo/Steve Helber
For roughly 23 hours spread out over three days, House impeachment managers pelted the Republican-led Senate with what they said was "overwhelming" and undisputed evidence against the president.
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They detailed the charges against him and laid out an intricate timeline of his months-long effort to strong-arm Ukraine into acceding to his personal demands, and leveraging official US policy while doing so.
The impeachment managers, a group of seven Democratic lawmakers with a range of experience in the legal field and law enforcement, flooded the Senate with documentary evidence and video footage of career foreign service officers who testified that Trump harmed the US's national security and repeatedly ignored warnings that the administration may be violating the law by withholding security assistance from Ukraine.
House prosecutors highlighted testimony from Trump's own officials who said his actions were "wrong," "inappropriate," and "improper." They discussed the constitutional grounds for impeaching Trump, and why his actions rise to the level of impeachable conduct.
And they hammered the president for what they said was his "unprecedented" obstruction of the impeachment inquiry and his false belief that he has the "absolute power" to do whatever he wants under Article 2 of the Constitution.
The impeachment managers also made a forceful case for calling witnesses to testify in Trump's trial. Indeed, the president and his Republican allies have complained that so far, they've learned nothing new in the trial compared to what emerged from the House's impeachment hearings.
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At the same time, those same Republicans have shot down calls from Democrats to allow more witnesses to testify.
On Friday, as Schiff made his final remarks before prosecutors concluded their opening arguments, he implored the Senate to bring in witnesses.
"Americans get a fair trial," he said as he addressed the chamber. "And so I ask you, I implore you, give America a fair trial. She's worth it."
See Also:
- 'Give America a fair trial. She's worth it': House Democrats wrap their opening arguments in Trump's historic impeachment trial
- 'If the truth doesn't matter, we're lost': On day 2 of opening arguments, House prosecutors hammered Trump for abusing his power and laid the groundwork to remove him from office
- GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz praised Democrats' impeachment presentation and skewered Trump's defense as looking like 'an 8th-grade book report'
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SEE ALSO: 'Give America a fair trial. She's worth it': House Democrats wrap their opening arguments in Trump's historic impeachment trial
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