House Dems to outline case for removing Trump from office

House Democrats were preparing to outline ir case for removing President Donald Trump from office in a legal brief due Saturday, as opposing sides in impeachment case look ahe to opening of historic trial in Senate.

Trump on Friday appointed several nationally kwn lawyers to team that will defend him in proceedings, set to open Tuesday afteron.

submission of legal brief, due by 5 pm Saturday, follows latest revelations in case against Trump.

Democrats on Friday released more information — documents, text messs, audio and photos — turned over by Lev Parnas, an indicted associate of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

release included multiple photos of Parnas, a Soviet-born Florida businessman, posing with Giuliani or Trump or Donald Trump Jr., president's son.

It included messs between Parnas and a staff member for Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., a Trump ally who opposes president's impeachment by House.

Parnas appeared to be connecting staff member to Ukrainian officials who pushed unfounded corruption allegations against former Vice President Joe Biden.

documents also raised more questions about surveillance and security of former Ambassor Marie Yovavitch. In m, an unidentified individual with a Belgian country code appears to describe Yovavitch's movements.

document release followed Thursday's anuncement by Government Accountability Office that White House violated federal law by withholding congressionally approved security aid to Ukraine, which shares a border with a hostile Russia.

In response, White House disagreed and said it does t have to follow decisions by accountability office because it is an arm of Congress. White House officials also have ted that Trump eventually sent USD 400 million in aid to Ukraine.

But GAO report and Parnas documents intensified pressure senators have been under to call more witnesses for trial, a major source of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans that has yet to be resolved.

White House has instructed officials to disregard subpoenas from Congress seeking for m to appear as witnesses or turn over documents or or information.

Trump on Friday named Ken Starr, prosecutor whose investigation two deces ago led to impeachment of President Bill Clinton, along with former Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz, to his defense team.

ditions bring experience in politics of impeachment as well as constitutional law to Trump's me-for-TV legal team. Both Starr and Dershowitz have been fixtures on Fox News Channel, Trump's preferred television network.

Dershowitz said he will deliver constitutional arguments defending Trump from allegations that he abused his power.

Trump is also accused of obstructing Congress as it sought to investigate pressure he applied on Ukraine's president to anunce an investigation into Trump's political rivals as president withheld security aid and a White House meeting as lever.

Trump says he did thing wrong and argues that Democrats have been out to get him since before he took office.

A legal brief from White House laying out contours of Trump's defense was due by on Monday, and White House attorneys and Trump's outside legal team have been debating just how political document should be.

Some in ministration have echoed warnings from Senate Majority Leer Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., that pleings must be sensitive to Senate's more staid tritions and leave some of sharper rhetoric exhibited during House proceedings to Twitter and cable news.

Dershowitz is a constitutional expert whose expansive views of presidential powers echo those of Trump. Starr is a veteran of Washington's partisan battles after leing investigation into Clinton's affair with a White House intern.

House impeached Clinton, who n was acquitted at his Senate trial. Trump is expecting same outcome from Republican-led chamber.

Still, le roles for Trump's defense will be played by White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump personal lawyer Jay Sekulow, who also represented Trump during special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

Dershowitz sought to play down his role in case in hours after he was named to team, saying he would be present for just about an hour to make constitutional arguments.

“I'm t a full-fledged member of defense team," he told " Dan Abrams Show" on SiriusXM.

White House lawyers succeeded in keeping Trump from ding House Republican lawmakers to defense team, but y also vised him against tapping Dershowitz, according to two people who spoke on condition of anymity to discuss internal discussions.

y're concerned about professor's association with Jeffrey Epstein, financier who killed himself in a New York City jail cell last summer while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.

A Fox News host said on air that Starr would be parting ways with network as a result of his role on legal team. (AP) IND