USA: Trump lawyer dismisses Bolton's book in impeachment trial

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W/S Lawyer for US President Donald Trump Jay Sekulow approaching lectern, Washington DC
SOT, Jay Sekulow, Lawyer for US President Donald Trump: "What we're involved in here, as we conclude, is perhaps the most solemn of duties under our constitutional framework. The trial of the leader of the free world and the duly elected president of the United States. It is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts. That's politics, unfortunately. And Hamilton put impeachment in the hands of this body, the Senate. Precisely, and specifically to be above that fray. "
SOT, Jay Sekulow, Lawyer for US President Donald Trump: "You can't view this case in a vacuum. You are being asked, and I say this with the utmost respect, you are being asked to remove an elected, duly elected president of the United States. This isn't some weird references to law school exams, and I love the fact. And I thought those were great analysis yesterday and I appreciate all that. But I want to focus today on my section on what you're being asked to do. You are being asked to remove a duly elected president of the United States and you're being asked to do it in an election year. "
SOT, Jay Sekulow, Lawyer for US President Donald Trump: "You cannot impeach a president on an unsourced allegation. But what Professor Dershowitz was saying, even if everything in there is true, it constitutionally doesn't rise to that level. But I want to be clear on this, because there's a lot of speculation out there. With regard to what John Bolton has said, which referenced a number of individuals, we'll start with the president. Here's what the president said in response to that New York Times piece - 'I never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.' The Department of Justice, 'While the Department of Justice has not reviewed Mr. Bolton's manuscript, the New York Times account of his conversation grossly mischaracterises what Attorney General Barr and Bolton discussed. There was no discussion of personal favours or undue influence on investigations. Nor did the attorney general state that the president's conversations with foreign leaders were improper.'"
SOT, Jay Sekulow, Lawyer for US President Donald Trump: "And are we having an impeachment proceeding because aid came out three weeks before the end of the fiscal year for a six-minute phone call?"
SOT, Jay Sekulow, Lawyer for US President Donald Trump: "We've laid out, I believe, a compelling case in what the Constitution requires. When they were in the House of Representatives putting this together, did they go through a constitutionally mandated accommodations process to see if there was a way to come up with something? No, they did not. Did they run to court? No. And the one time it was about to happen, they ran the other way."
SOT, Jay Sekulow, Lawyer for US President Donald Trump: "If partisan impeachment is now the rule of the day, which these members and members of the Senate said should never be the rule of the day. My goodness, they said it, some of them five months ago. But then we had the national emergency. A phone call. It's an emergency. Except, well, we'll just wait. But if partisan impeachment, based on policy disagreements, which is what this is, and personal presumptions or newspaper reports and allegations in a unsourced, maybe this is in somebody's book who's no longer at the White House? If that becomes the new norm, future presidents, Democrats, Republicans will be paralysed the moment they are elected, before they can even take the oath of office. The bar for impeachment cannot be set this low. Majority Leader McConnell, Democratic Leader Schumer, House managers, members of the Senate. Danger, danger, danger. These articles must be rejected. The constitution requires it. Justice demands it. "
W/S Lawyer for US President Donald Trump Jay Sekulow leaving lectern
SCRIPT
US President Donald Trump's lawyer Jay Sekulow dismissed the allegations contained in former national security advisor John Bolton's upcoming book, on the sixth day of the impeachment trial in Washington DC, on Tuesday.
"You cannot impeach a president on an unsourced allegation," said Sekulow, before reading out Trump's denial of said allegations:
"'I never told John Bolton that the aid to Ukraine was tied to investigations into Democrats, including the Bidens. In fact, he never complained about this at the time of his very public termination. If John Bolton said this, it was only to sell a book.'"
The New York Times reported that Bolton's forthcoming book alleges that Trump tied Ukrainian military aid to the Ukrainian government's investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
"It is not a game of leaks and unsourced manuscripts. That's politics, unfortunately," said Trump's lawyer.
Trump is facing impeachment over charges of abuse of power as well as obstruction of Congress, but with a Republican majority in the Senate and a super-majority required for a conviction, the president looks set to remain in office.