The Democrat managing former President Donald Trump's impeachment hearing in the Senate said that the former President should testify under oath, NBC News reports.
Trump is not required by law to make an appearance at his own impeachment trial, which is set to take place next week.
"In light of your disputing these factual allegations, I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath," Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wrote in a letter to Trump. He further requested that Trump respond to the invitation by Friday.
The request comes nearly a month after then-President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives for allegedly inciting the Jan 6 riot at the Capitol Building in DC. Rioters broke into the Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results in Joe Biden's favour.
The request for Trump's appearance at the trial has sparked criticism from some Republicans.
"I don’t think that would be in anybody’s interest," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. "It’s just a nightmare for the country to do this, it’s just a political showboat move to do this."
Graham also noted that Trump was not asked to testify before the House of Representatives before they impeached him in January.
Trump himself has questioned the legality of the trial, arguing that a President cannot be impeached after he has left office. Democrats have disputed the claims from Trump's legal team, arguing that precedent was set in the 1870s when a former Secretary of War was impeached after he had already left office.
Trump is the third President to have been impeached by the House of Representatives and the first to have been impeached twice. No President has ever been convicted by the Senate, which requires a two-third majority.
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