Trump's lawyers say his supporters rioted 'of their own accord'

Donald Trump's lawyers on Monday responded to charges of impeachment against him, saying that the former president's supporters stormed Capitol Hill in Washington DC on January 6 of their own accord and that Mr Trump was in no way responsible for inciting them to do so.

This comes just a day before Mr Trump's trial in the Senate which is due to begin on Tuesday after he was impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives last month.

The House charged Mr Trump with "inciting insurrection" in a speech to supporters ahead of the deadly riot in the Congress which left five people dead, including a woman and a policeman.

In a pre-trial brief released on Monday, Mr Trump's lawyers said that the documents released by the FBI show that the riot was planned days in advance, which invariably means that Mr Trump could not have encouraged the violence.

They also insist the trial is unconstitutional because Mr Trump has left office and is now a private citizen, describing the impeachment proceedings as "political theatre" and a "brazen political act" by Democrats that was intended to "silence a political opponent and a minority party".

Mr Trump who had been given the offer of testifying before Congress has rejected the offer and said that he will not testify.

A mob of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol building on January 6, forcing politicians and staff to hide in offices and causing widespread damage to the building and offices of individual politicians.

Mr Trump is the only US president in history to have been impeached twice and one of only three to have been impeached at all.