The White House says exoneration is the only win they are looking for when the Senate considers impeachment charges against President Trump, with the details of how an acquittal might be accomplished taking a back seat.
At different times, senior figures, including Trump himself, have said they want a full trial with witnesses and a clear vote that finds the president not guilty. At other times, they have called for a speedy dismissal of the case so that the president can get back to work.
Those questions turn from hypothetical to real this week if, as expected, the House votes on Wednesday to send its articles of impeachment to the Senate.
“A win would be to get what we expect, for the president to be exonerated, and for the Senate to provide him the due process rights and representation that he was denied in the House by the Democrats,” said a senior administration official on Tuesday as the White House continued to finalize its defense team.
“That means he will have an opportunity to put on a defense, and he looks forward to putting this behind him and working on the priorities of the American people.”
Trump became the third president to be impeached last month when the House approved charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress.
The White House is confident that Democrats will not be able to muster the two-thirds majority needed to remove him from office. Instead, officials are developing a strategy that can deliver a political win as the country gears up for November’s election.
Trump offered a taste of that in a fundraising message sent to supporters on Tuesday, hitting back at Democrats and citing a White House account of the contentious phone conversation with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine.
“I did nothing wrong. Read the transcript,” he said. “Their pathetic attempts to remove me from office are not only an attack on me, but they’re an attack on YOU. They’re trying to UNDO the 2016 election like it never happened by SILENCING MILLIONS of votes. We can’t let them get away on this.”
His legal team’s response will be laid out in a “trial brief,” which addresses the prosecution’s claims and states the defense argument. A final draft is expected to be produced once the articles of impeachment have been transmitted to the Senate.
His team is expected to be led on the Senate floor by White House counsel Pat Cipollone with the support of his deputies and Jay Sekulow, the president’s personal attorney.
