Trump lawyers condemn impeachment case as political vengeance

Michael van der Veen, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, speaks during the second impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol. Picutre: Senate Television via AP

Lawyers for Donald Trump have opened his impeachment defence by denying he played any role in inciting the deadly riot at the US Capitol, condemning the case against him as political vengeance and part of a years-long Democratic “witch hunt”.

A lawyer for the former president told senators he was entitled to dispute the 2020 election results and doing so, including in a speech that preceded the assault on the Capitol, did not amount to inciting the violence that followed.