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Members of former President Donald Trumps defense team, David Schoen, center left, Michael van der Veen, center, and Bruce Castor, center right, arrive at the Capitol before the start of day three of the impeachment trial in the Senate on Thursday, February 11, 2021. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Members of former President Donald Trumps defense team, David Schoen, center left, Michael van der Veen, center, and Bruce Castor, center right, arrive at the Capitol before the start of day three of the impeachment trial in the Senate on Thursday, February 11, 2021. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

WATCH LIVE: Defense to Deliver Rebuttal on Day 4 of Impeachment Trial After Dems Dub Trump 'Inciter-in-Chief'

Over three days, House impeachment managers shared graphic footage of the U.S. Capitol attack and compelling testimony alongside arguments that conviction is essential to thwarting future insurrection attempts.

Common Dreams staff

On the heels of a controversial Thursday night meeting between lawyers for Donald Trump and three GOP senators who are serving as jurors in his historic second impeachment trial, the former president's attorneys on Friday are set to deliver a rebuttal to Democratic prosecutors' case for convicting the "inciter-in-chief."

Since Tuesday, House impeachment managers led by Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) have argued that Trump abandoned his oath of office by inciting a deadly takeover of the U.S. Capitol on January 6. They shared personal accounts and damning footage from what some have described as a domestic terror attack while asserting that, as Raskin put it, "if you don't find this a high crime and misdemeanor today, you have set a new terrible standard for presidential misconduct in the United States of America."

Appearing on CNN late Thursday to discuss the Republican senators' meeting, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said that considering the "extraordinarily good job" by Democratic prosecutors the past few days, he imagines Trump's team is "pretty desperate to come up with a good defense strategy."

Trump lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen were both part of the meeting, CNN reports. Castor, while serving as district attorney for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2008, declined to prosecute actor Bill Cosby after Andrea Constand said he touched her inappropriately at his home. Schoen, a longtime civil and criminal lawyer, previously represented Roger Stone, Trump's friend and former adviser. Both men were ridiculed for their opening arguments on Tuesday.

The proceedings are expected to begin at noon ET. Watch live:

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