Asked whether Donald Trump could petition the Supreme Court to stop his impeachment, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said: "The president is not a lawyer. He's not law trained."

Ms Ginsburg, speaking in a wide-ranging conversation with the BBC's Razia Iqbal, also implied that senators who have already expressed their verdict in the president's likely impeachment trial should be disqualified.

She said: "Should a trial be impartial? Of course. That's the job of a judge to be impartial."

Ms Igbal asked: "So if a senator says, 'I've already made up my mind and the trial doesn't exist at the moment,' there is no accountability, is there?"

Ms Ginsburg replied: "If a judge said that, a judge would be disqualified from the case."

13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes Show all 13 1 /13 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On feminism 'Feminism … I think the simplest explanation, and one that captures the idea, is a song that Marlo Thomas sang, 'Free to be You and Me.' Free to be, if you were a girl—doctor, lawyer, Indian chief. Anything you want to be. And if you’re a boy, and you like teaching, you like nursing, you would like to have a doll, that’s OK too. That notion that we should each be free to develop our own talents, whatever they may be, and not be held back by artificial barriers - manmade barriers, certainly not heaven sent.' (Interview with Makers, 2012) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how she wants to be remembered 'Someone who used whatever talent she had to do her work to the very best of her ability. And to help repair tears in her society, to make things a little better through the use of whatever ability she has. To do something, as my colleague David Souter would say, outside myself. ‘Cause I’ve gotten much more satisfaction for the things that I’ve done for which I was not paid.' (Interview with MSNBC, 2015) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the advice she'd give women today 'Fight for the things that you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you.' (Speech at Harvard University's 364th Commencement, 2015) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On women being included in the conversation 'Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. I don't say [the split] should be 50-50. It could be 60 per cent men, 40 per cent women, or the other way around. It shouldn't be that women are the exception.' (Interview with USA Today, 2009) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how she copes with criticism 'Well, I’m dejected, but only momentarily, when I can’t get the fifth vote for something I think is very important. But then you go on to the next challenge and you give it your all. You know that these important issues are not going to go away. They are going to come back again and again. There’ll be another time, another day.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On women's rights 'Women's rights are an essential part of the overall human rights agenda, trained on the equal dignity and ability to live in freedom all people should enjoy.' (ACLU) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On rejection 'You think about what would have happened ... Suppose I had gotten a job as a permanent associate. Probably I would have climbed up the ladder and today I would be a retired partner. So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great good fortune.' (Interview with Makers, 2012) AFP/Getty 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the biggest issue women face 'In some ways it’s the most familiar issue and the largest one. It’s, “Who will take the responsibility for bringing up the next generation?” That, I think, is the hardest problem. There can be incentives and encouragement, but women will have achieved true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On sexist, unconscious bias 'I think unconscious bias is one of the hardest things to get at. My favorite example is the symphony orchestra. When I was growing up, there were no women in orchestras. Auditioners thought they could tell the difference between a woman playing and a man. Some intelligent person devised a simple solution: Drop a curtain between the auditioners and the people trying out. And, lo and behold, women began to get jobs in symphony orchestras.' (Interview with Elle magazine, 2014) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On having a supportive partner 'If you have a caring life partner, you help the other person when that person needs it. I had a life partner who thought my work was as important as his, and I think that made all the difference for me.' (Interview with Yahoo, 2014) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On how many women should be on the Supreme Court 'People ask me sometimes, when — when do you think it will it be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is when there are nine.' (Talk at Georgetown University, Washington, 2015) (There are nine judges on the US Supreme Court) AFP/Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On the impact of discrimination 'We should not be held back from pursuing our full talents, from contributing what we could contribute to the society, because we fit into a certain mold ― because we belong to a group that historically has been the object of discrimination.' (Interview with ABC News Correspondent Lynn Sherr, 2000) Getty Images 13 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's most inspirational quotes On her most treasured talent 'If I had any talent in the world, any talent that God could give me, I would be a great diva.' (Talk at Georgetown University, Washington, 2015) AFP/Getty Images

She also invoked a statement from former Justice William Rehnquist, saying: "The day a judge stops being impartial, and starts to do things to please the home crowd, that's the day the judge should step down from office."

On Twitter, the president suggested that the Supreme Court could intervene, saying: "Radical Left has NO CASE. Read the Transcripts. Shouldn't even be allowed. Can we go to Supreme Court to stop?"

Ms Ginsburg said: "The truth is, the judiciary is a reactive institution. We don't have a program, we don't have an agenda. We react to what's out there."

Ms Iqbal's conversation followed accusations of collusion between the president and Republican senators, ostensibly acting as the impartial jury in a senate trial that's likely to follow the House's upcoming vote supporting the president's impeachment.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told Fox News that he is in "total coordination" with the White House as the Senate prepares for a trial, in which he said there would be "zero chance" the president would be removed from office.

He said: "Everything I do during this, I'm coordinating with the White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president's position and our position as to how to handle this."

At the White House on Friday, Mr Trump, asked whether he would whether a longer or shorter trial, said: "I'll do whatever I want."

On Tuesday, Mr McConnell responded to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's request for Trump appointees to appear as witnesses in the trial, after the White House failed to call witnesses, introduce evidence and send counsel to House hearings.

Mr Schumer said: "Impeachment trials, like most trials, have witnesses. To have none would be an aberration ... what are they afraid the witnesses are going to say?"

Mr McConnell had accused Mr Schumer's request as an attempt to "short circuit" the trial process.

On Monday, the 86-year-old Supreme Court justice was awarded the $1m Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, which she said she will distribute to several nonprofit organisations.

She recently agreed to put a temporary freeze on the release of the president's records from Capital One and Deutsche Bank while Mr Trump appeals a federal court ruling that said those records can be released under a Congressional subpoena.