Then-Sen. Joseph R. Biden wrote in 1999 that the Senate could refuse to hear witnesses in an impeachment trial, according to a memo the president’s legal team read on the Senate floor Thursday.

He said the Constitution gave the Senate the sole power to decide how it conducted impeachment trials, and it didn’t have to bow to demands for witnesses

“The framers did not mean that this political process was to be a partisan process,” Mr. Biden wrote, according to the president’s legal team.

“I think you should adopt the Biden rule,” Jay Sekulow, the president’s told senators.

Mr. Biden is a key figure in the impeachment.

It was President Trump’s request that Ukraine investigate Mr. Biden and his son that is at the heart of Democrats’ impeachment case.

After the Biden memo was read, Democratic lawmakers still insisted witnesses were necessary.

“All we are asking the Senate to do is hold a full and fair trial,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.

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