Trump team quickly rejects testimony request, blasts 'unconstitutional' trial

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Trump team quickly rejects testimony request, blasts ‘unconstitutional’ trial
Former President Trump will not testify in his Senate impeachment trial, Fox News has learned. 

“The president will not testify in an unconstitutional proceeding,” Trump senior adviser Jason Miller told Fox News Thursday. 

The former president’s legal team fired back at impeachment manager Jamie Raskin’s request Thursday for the former president to testify as part of the Senate impeachment trial, calling it a “public relations stunt” and saying they “cannot prove” the allegations against him.

The comments came after House impeachment managers requested that Trump provide testimony under oath either before or during the Senate impeachment trial about “his conduct” on Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol riot.

Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, reacted later Thursday to the response from the Trump camp.

“Today we offered President Trump the opportunity to testify about the events of January 6 and he refused to do so,” Raskin wrote. “Despite his lawyers’ rhetoric, any official accused of inciting armed violence against the government of the United States should welcome the chance to testify openly and honestly — that is, if the official had a defense. … His immediate refusal to testify speaks volumes and plainly establishes an adverse inference supporting his guilt.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON OUR TOP STORY.

In other developments:
– Trump impeachment trial sees wide partisan divide: polls
– Raskin says Trump’s refusal to testify at impeachment supports ‘his guilt’
– Jason Miller: Trump impeachment trial is unconstitutional – here’s why Senate must dismiss it
– What is Trump being accused of in the Senate impeachment trial?
– Can the Senate stop Trump running for president again?
– Impeachment trial: How many Senate votes does it take to convict Trump?

Keeping National Guard in DC has cost an estimated $438 million
The price tag for keeping the National Guard in Washington D.C. since Jan. 6 has reached an estimated $438 million, a senior defense official told Fox News.

The estimate came nearly a month after the riot at the U.S. Capitol. Chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby recently said new Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had committed to ordering all units to “stand down” in the next 60 days.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 troops are scheduled to stay in D.C. until mid-March, a significant reduction from the…