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US Senators hear depositions from Trump's defense team

WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (KUNA) -- US Senate held on Tuesday a final hearing in the first stage of the impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump.
Over the lasted three days, Trump's legal team presented their arguments to refute the Democrats' charges against the president as a prelude to a looming vote on whether to call witnesses in the coming crucial stage.
The legal team reiterated that Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky implied no wrongdoing.
The Senate hearing took place against the backdrop of recent revelations from former national security adviser John Bolton's book manuscript that Trump sought US security assistance to Ukraine be conditioned on investigations into former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The president's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow told the Senators that the impeachment "is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts." "Trump impeachment based on a policy dispute, not violation of law," he argued.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone said, "We urge the Senate to reject the Articles of impeachment." On his part, Chuck Schumer, a senior Democratic Senator from New York, said Hunter Biden has nothing to do with the facts of this trial. We're not bargaining with them - four witnesses and four sets of documents." Meanwhile, Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff said, "A fair trial involves witnesses and documents." "We cannot accept the idea that a president can sacrifice national security to cheat on election," he told reporters following the Senate meeting. (end) asj.gb