WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's lawyers opened his Senate impeachment defense Saturday with the false assertion that Democrats tried to shut the president's team out of the congressional inquiry that preceded the charges. Actually, Democrats invited Trump to participate and he declined. TRUMP lawyer PAT CIPOLLONE: “Why would you lock everybody out of it from the president's side? ... It’s evidence they themselves don’t believe in the facts of their case.” THE FACTS: Trump wasn't locked out. He rejected an invitation from the House Judiciary Committee to participate in the hearings that ultimately produced the articles of impeachment.