President Trump said he wants an impeachment trial in the Senate if the House impeaches him.
Speaking to Fox & Friends on Friday morning, the president touched on recent testimonies from multiple career diplomats in front of the House Intelligence Committee. Trump has been accused of abusing the powers of the presidency to help his reelection campaign. While speaking about the officials who testified, the president claimed he wants a trial in the Senate.
Host Brian Kilmeade responded, “You want a trial?”
Trump replied, “Oh, I would! Look, number one, they should never, ever impeach. I watched, I watched five people on your network yesterday say there’s nothing here. Andy McCarthy, how about Ken, special prosecutor,” Trump said.
Kilmeade interjected: “Ken Starr.”
“Special counsel. Ken Starr, he was fantastic, he said there’s nothing here. So ready? Number one, there should never be an impeachment. This is not an impeachment,” Trump concluded.
The president’s remarks come a day after White House counsel Pat Cipollone signaled during a meeting with key Senate Republicans that Trump has concluded he has more to gain politically from presenting a detailed defense at trial than from the GOP preventing a trial from happening at all.
