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- Donald Trump’s lawyers say he is the target of unconstitutional “revenge.”
- Trump’s attorney, Michael van der Veen, said the Senate should vote to reject his impeachment.
- Trump faces impeachment following the invasion of Congress by his supporters on January 6.
Donald Trump is the target of unconstitutional “revenge” and senators should reject his impeachment for inciting insurrection, the former president’s attorney told the US Senate at the opening of the defense case on Friday.
“The impeachment article now before the Senate is an unfair and blatantly unconstitutional act of political revenge,” said attorney Michael van der Veen.
“Like any other politically motivated witch hunt the left has been involved in for the past four years, this impeachment is completely divorced from the facts, the evidence, and the interests of the American people,” he said.
“The Senate must vote quickly and decisively to reject it.”
Democratic impeachment managers rested their case Thursday after two days of often emotional presentations anchored in shocking video footage of a Jan.6 invasion of Congress by Trump supporters.
But in a sign that they want to get to a Senate vote as quickly as possible, Trump’s lawyers say they will use as little as three to four hours to present their own case, when under the rules they are allowed up to 16 hours spread. two days.
The impeachment team argues that Trump deliberately stoked national tension after losing re-election to Joe Biden on November 3 with a campaign of lies that claimed there had been massive voter fraud.
On January 6, he staged a fierce rally near the White House, calling on the crowd to march on Congress, which was in the process of certifying Biden’s victory.
The mob then charged into the Capitol building. Five people, including a police officer and a woman shot during the riots, died as a result of the chaos.
Prosecution managers say Trump, who has never expressed remorse for rooting for the violent crowd, is so dangerous that he should be barred from holding office again.
But the former president’s lawyers argue that his speech was rhetorical and that he cannot be held responsible for the mafia.
They also argue that the trial itself is unconstitutional because Trump is now out of office, although the Senate rejected this claim earlier this week.
It would take a two-thirds majority to convict, which means 17 Republicans would need to join the 50 Senate Democrats.
This is highly unlikely.
However, if even a handful of Republicans vote to convict, it would be a historic landmark against Trump, fueling a civil war within his party over whether to follow his populist and divisive vision or return to more moderate values.
“I can’t wait to see what my Republican friends do, if they stand up,” Biden said previously at the White House.
A prominent Republican voice and possible future presidential candidate, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, told Politico that it is time to resign from Trump, saying, “We cannot allow that to happen again.”
As the United States Senate prepares for Donald Trump’s historic second impeachment on Tuesday, his defense continues to condemn him as nothing more than a “blatant political act” of retaliation. Https://t.co/AdnvlCDX4o
– News24 (@ News24) February 9, 2021
– Trump ‘inflamed’ and ‘incited’ –
Video footage reproduced by impeachment managers showed crowds on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 chasing Trump opponents as senior figures, including then-Vice President Mike Pence, fled for safety.
Another defense attorney, David Schoen, mocked the video as “an entertainment package” and said Trump could not be held responsible for the protesters’ actions.
But chief impeachment manager Jamie Raskin noted that the Republican leader had been encouraging extremism even in the run-up to Election Day by constantly undermining public faith in the election process.
“This pro-Trump insurrection did not come out of nowhere,” Raskin said. “This was not the first time that Donald Trump had inflamed and incited a mob.”
He said it was imperative that the Senate condemn Trump and prohibit him from running again for the White House in 2024 or facing the risk of the same kind of behavior being repeated.
“Would you bet the future of your democracy on that?”
– ‘Not guilty’ –
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said the video evidence shown by House administrators was “powerful,” but “how that influences final decisions remains to be seen.”
Other Republican senators have clearly already made a decision and do not intend to break up with Trump, who has threatened to derail their careers if they back impeachment.
“The ‘Not Guilty’ vote is growing after today,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina tweeted. “I think the majority of Republicans found the House trustees’ presentation offensive and absurd.”
The ‘Not Guilty’ vote is growing after today. I think a majority of Republicans found the House managers’ presentation offensive and absurd. FULL INTERVIEW: https: //t.co/q6R1kIlBgm
– Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) February 11, 2021
Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri echoed the argument by Trump’s defense attorneys that it is unconstitutional to try a former president.
“You will get nothing but a conviction from me for what happened to those criminals on Capitol Hill on January 6,” Hawley told Fox News.
“But that doesn’t make the trial any more legitimate than it is, which is totally illegitimate.
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