Read The Impeachment Managers' Response To The Senate Impeachment Trial Summons

By NPR Staff

Published January 18, 2020 at 4:52 PM CST

House managers accompany the articles of impeachment against President Trump as they are carried through the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol from the House of Representatives to the Senate on Jan. 15, 2020.

House impeachment managers released their formal response to the summons sent by the Senate last week, a procedural part of the impeachment process ahead of the trial that begins on Tuesday.

"President Trump's conduct is the Framers' worst nightmare," they said in the brief released Saturday.

Read the brief here.

The response is part of the legal paperwork required in the process initiated Thursday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. President Trump's defense team has until noon on Monday, Jan. 20, to submit their brief on why the president should be acquitted, though sources close to the president's legal team on Saturday evening responded to the summons by excoriating the entire impeachment process.

The House impeachment managers have until noon on Tuesday to respond to the defense team's brief.

The House of Representatives voted last month to impeach the president for obstructing Congress and abuse of power. The process was linked to his phone call with his newly elected Ukrainian counterpart. Democrats say Trump sought an investigation into the Bidens in exchange for a release of frozen military aid and a White House visit. Trump has dismissed those allegations.

The Senate trial, where two-thirds of the 100 senators must vote to remove the president, begins Tuesday; Trump is almost certain to be acquitted.