AKIPRESS.COM - In a 14-hour session that was less electric than expected, Brazil's suspended president proclaimed her innocence at her impeachment trial Monday, branding her vice president a "usurper," calling the drive to oust her a "coup" and warning senators that history will judge them harshly if they oust a democratically elected leader on false charges, ABC News reports.

Dilma Rousseff's much anticipated appearance before senators who will decide as early as Tuesday whether to permanently remove her from office was characterized by the same defiance she has shown throughout an impeachment process that has divided Latin America's most populous nation. But it was also more civil than the three previous impeachment trial sessions, when lawmakers from both sides got into heated exchanges.

"I know I will be judged, but my conscience is clear. I did not commit a crime," Rousseff told senators who listened intently, in contrast to the chamber's usual raucousness.

She also pleaded with all 81 senators to keep her on the job in her closing remarks. "I need all of you, regardless of political parties," she said. The response of the lawmakers was tepid.

In the middle of her second term, the left-leaning leader has been accused of breaking fiscal rules in 2015 to hide problems in the federal budget. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Rousseff reminded those in attendance that she was re-elected in 2014 with more than 54 million votes, asserting that at every moment since she has followed the constitution and sought to do what was best for Brazil.

Brazil's first female president is a former guerrilla fighter who was jailed and tortured during the country's dictatorship, and Rousseff drew a connection between her past and the situation today.

"I can't help but taste the bitterness of injustice," she said.