Trump's lawyers confirm their playbook for impeachment is to argue that the charges are 'deficient' and should be immediately thrown out

Reuters

President Donald Trump at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Austin, Texas.

• President Donald Trump's legal team said the articles of impeachment against him are "deficient" in a fiery response ahead of his trial in the Senate.
• Speaking ahead of a formal defense filing, sources working with Trump's legal team said in a briefing that the charges are "frivolous and dangerous."
• The sources working with Trump's legal team did not go into the specifics of their argument, but said the articles of impeachment "constitutionally invalid" and should be rejected.
• A 110-page legal briefing was filed to the Senate on Monday, countering House Democrats' arguments for Trump's impeachment.
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President Donald Trump's legal team filed a response to charges accusing him of abusing his office and obstructing Congress on Monday, saying the articles of impeachment are "deficient" and should be immediately thrown out.

Speaking ahead of the filing, sources working with Trump's legal team said during a briefing on Monday that the charges are "frivolous and dangerous," and that they fail to cite any legal violations.

The sources did not say whether they would ask for a motion to dismiss the case, but did say the impeachment case should be rejected, arguing that the "articles of impeachment are deficient on their face."

The 110-page legal briefing was filed to the Senate on Monday, countering House Democrats' allegations that Trump abused his presidential power by pressuring Ukraine to announce an investigation into Joe Biden and his son.

The filing comes after a short document filed Saturday called the articles of impeachment "constitutionally invalid."

The longer document filed on Monday detailed Trump's legal team's arguments as to why the articles are "constitutionally invalid."

The sources working with Trump's legal team declined, however, to lay out the specifics of the strategy.

"I'm not going to get into our details on what our strategy will be when the trial starts," one of the legal team sources said.

Trump will be represented at trial by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, and other attorneys expected to take part include Ken Starr, Alan Dershowitz, Pam Bondi, Jane Serene Raskin, Eric Herschmann and Robert Ray.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to allot 24 hours per side to statements in the trial, which must be confined into two working days, according to NBC News.

• Read more:
• Trump's Russia adviser was escorted from the White House after 2 months on the job, as part of a mysterious security probe
• Trump reportedly picked his impeachment defense team based on how well he thinks they can perform on TV
• The White House called the Democrats' impeachment case against Trump a 'dangerous attack' in its first formal response
• Trump's defense team in his Senate impeachment trial will include Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr

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