Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, walks to the Senate floor on February 2, 2021, in Washington. Mr Leahy is presiding over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. AFP
Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, walks to the Senate floor on February 2, 2021, in Washington. Mr Leahy is presiding over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. AFP
Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, walks to the Senate floor on February 2, 2021, in Washington. Mr Leahy is presiding over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. AFP
Patrick Leahy, a senator from Vermont, walks to the Senate floor on February 2, 2021, in Washington. Mr Leahy is presiding over the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. AFP

Trump legal team calls impeachment trial 'moot'


Patrick deHahn
  • English
  • Arabic

Former president Donald Trump's legal team and US House impeachment managers released their pretrial briefs on Tuesday, revealing vastly different strategies before the Senate trial.

Mr Trump's lawyers say the Senate cannot impeach a president who has left office and that the speech he gave before a deadly riot at the US Capitol, for which the House has charged him with "incitement of insurrection", is protected by free speech.

The Democratic-majority House of Representatives impeached Mr Trump on January 13, exactly a week after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol.

The riot occurred after he made a speech outside the White House while members of Congress met to certify President Joe Biden's electoral win.

"President Trump's responsibility for the events of January 6 is unmistakable," the House impeachment team said in an 80-page brief.

"President Trump's effort to extend his grip on power by fomenting violence against Congress was a profound violation of the oath he swore.

"If provoking an insurrectionary riot against a joint session of Congress after losing an election is not an impeachable offence, it is hard to imagine what would be."

Five people died in the riot, including a US Capitol Police officer. Two officers who responded to the riot died by suicide in the weeks after.

Mr Trump has is having trouble securing legal backing for his defence. Several lawyers left his team this week, while Bruce Castor and David Schoen joined it.

His lawyers addressed the issue of his speech, saying that it is protected by the First Amendment.

"After the November election, the 45th president exercised his First Amendment right under the Constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect, since with very few exceptions, under the convenient guise of Covid-19 pandemic 'safeguards', state election laws and procedures were changed by local politicians or judges without the necessary approvals from state legislatures," they said in their 18-page brief.

The House impeachment lawyers covered the free speech argument in their brief.

"The First Amendment protects private citizens from the government; it does not protect government officials from accountability for their own abuses in office," they said.

The pretrial briefs are the latest formal step towards the start of the historic Senate trial. Mr Trump is the first US president to be impeached twice.

The trial is scheduled to begin during the week of February 9, in a decision reached by majority leader Chuck Schumer, a senator from New York.

While the scales are tipped towards Democrats in the Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding a tie-breaking vote, 67 senators are required to convict a president in a trial.

There is continuing argument over whether a former president can be convicted after leaving office, although the House is presenting a defence saying that Mr Trump was impeached while president.

Last week there was a vote on whether to dismiss the trial on constitutional grounds and 45 of 50 Republican senators voted to do so.

"Donald John Trump, 45th president of the United States, respectfully requests the honourable members of the Senate of the United States dismiss Article I: Incitement of Insurrection against him as moot and thus in violation of the constitution," the legal brief read.

It said "the Senate lacks jurisdiction to remove from office a man who does not hold office".

"In the alternative, the 45th president respectfully requests the Senate acquit him on the merits of the allegations raised in the article of impeachment."

Many constitutional experts say it is legal to hold an impeachment trial after a president has departed.

While the vote in the Senate last week did not confirm how any senators will vote in the trial, it shows that a conviction, with the support of 67 or more politicians, may be out of reach.

If Mr Trump is convicted, it opens a way for the Senate to vote on stopping him running for office again.

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry

Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000

Engine: 3.5-litre V6

Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic

Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm

Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

F1 2020 calendar

March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

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%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EHigh%20fever%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EIntense%20pain%20behind%20your%20eyes%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESevere%20headache%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ENausea%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EVomiting%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ESwollen%20glands%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ERash%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIf%20symptoms%20occur%2C%20they%20usually%20last%20for%20two-seven%20days%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WandaVision

Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany

Directed by: Matt Shakman

Rating: Four stars

If you go

The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.

The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.