Attorneys General From 21 US States Urge Senate To Dismiss Impeachment Articles

Attorneys General from 21 Republican-leaning US states in a letter on Wednesday called on the Senate to reject the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2020) Attorneys General from 21 Republican-leaning US states in a letter on Wednesday called on the Senate to reject the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.

Trump's impeachment trial commenced this week in a session that ran to the early hours of Wednesday, during which 53 Senate Republicans voted to delay a decision on whether to allow for new witnesses and evidence.

"If exercising presidential authority to conduct foreign affairs, investigating potential violations, and asserting executive privilege are 'high crimes and misdemeanors' justifying impeachment, presidents are but congressional puppets, impeachable whenever exercising their constitutional authority angers the political opposition in Congress," the attorneys general wrote. "We, therefore, urge the Senate to reject the Articles of Impeachment."

The argument matches a key pillar of Trump's defense in the ongoing Senate trial, where two House charges - abusing power and obstructing Congress - face criticism for vagueness, failure to cite any broken laws and falling short of Constitution's criteria of "high crimes and misdemeanors.

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The House impeached Trump without a single Republican vote. In the Senate trial, House impeachment managers face slim odds of convincing a two-thirds majority needed in the Republican-led chamber to remove Trump from office.

The charges are based on Trump's request that Ukraine investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, at a time when Trump had blocked release of nearly $400 million in military aid to the nation.

The letter was signed by attorneys general from the states of South Carolina, Louisiana, Utah, Alabama, Indiana, Alaska, Kansas, Arkansas, Kentucky, Florida, Nebraska, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, Tennessee, Ohio, Texas, Oklahoma and West Virginia - all won by Trump in the 2016 election.