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In the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, the former president’s defense attorneys flatly rejected the prosecutor’s accusations. It is an unfair, unconstitutional and politically motivated process, said attorney Michael van der Veen in the United States Senate.
Trump did not call for violence in his speech immediately before the assault on the Capitol on January 6. The Democrats’ claims that the then president incited the protesters were “absurd and monstrous lies.” It’s “clear” that Democrats “hate” Trump, van der Veen said.
Trump’s attorneys reportedly had two days to respond to House prosecutors’ arguments. However, they finished their lecture after three hours. The senators then had four hours to answer questions on Friday night (CET). The final vote on impeachment could take place over the weekend.
Lawyer does not want to confirm Trump’s electoral defeat
When asked by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders if defense attorneys believed Trump won the election, van der Veen said, “My assessment is irrelevant in this process.” Then he added: “I think it is irrelevant to the question that this institution addresses.” . “Trump did not admit defeat in the November 3 election until today.
The only relevant question is whether Trump’s remarks were so inciting that they led to violence and unrest, van der Veen said. The answer is no, Trump has campaigned for peaceful protests and, as president, has always campaigned for “law and order.” The statements criticized in his speech were “ordinary political statements” protected by the right to freedom of expression. The attempt to selectively restrict freedom of expression is illegal.
(Keep an overview: every business day around 5 pm, the authors of SPIEGEL answer the most important questions of the day. “The situation at night”: deep, compact, free. Here you can request your news summary by email.)
The Democratic chief prosecutor in the House of Representatives, Jamie Raskin, was stunned by the statements of the lawyers. “Be real,” said Raskin, which in German means something like: “Wake up” or “Get back to the bottom of things.” Trump had incited his supporters at a January 6 rally that they had stolen his election victory. Among other things, he said: “If you don’t fight like the devil, you will have no more land.”
To defend Trump’s supposed call to fight, lawyers showed dozens of videos from recent years in which prominent Democrats called for a “fight” against Trump and called for his impeachment. “I fought hard for change,” Senator Elizabeth Warren said in one video, “I’m not afraid of a fight” in another.
Lawyers compare Madonna’s statements
Lawyers didn’t stop at the pop icon Madonna either. They showed two older videos of the music superstar in which he talks about blowing up the White House. “Any political expression must be protected, equally for all of us,” van der Veen said. Madonna had campaigned for Trump’s opponent, Hillary Clinton, in 2016.
Raskins said, “How gullible do you think we are? We saw it happen. “
Another Trump defense attorney, David Schoen, accused the House of Representatives of relying on unconfirmed media reports and tampered evidence to harm the former president. In their filings, prosecutors also relied on quotes from Trump that were deliberately taken out of context, Schoen said.
Van der Veen re-emphasized that the process was unconstitutional because Trump had already left office. Democrats are only concerned with “trying to disqualify their political opponents.” The majority of the Senate decided Tuesday that the procedure initiated during Trump’s term was constitutional. Van der Veen accused the Democrats of being driven solely by “hatred” of Trump. “This kind of political hatred has no place in our political institutions,” he said.
Trump is accused of “inciting riots”
Democrats accuse Trump of “inciting a riot” in the impeachment process and have initiated impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives. The impeachment process is managed and decided in the Senate. The House of Congress assumes the role of a court.
Prosecutors laid out their allegations against Trump on Wednesday and Thursday using dramatic video recordings and a meticulous account of the attack on Capitol Hill. They accuse Trump of having prepared the ground for the attack with his allegations of election fraud for months and ultimately of having deliberately instigated and orchestrated the outbreak of violence. Prosecutors also accused Trump of showing no remorse and then calling his remarks at the rally “perfectly appropriate.”
To be convicted, 17 Republicans would have to join 50 Democrats in the Senate. Only six Republican senators voted with the Democrats in the vote on constitutionality. So far it seems like an acquittal for Republican Trump.
Democrats want to lock Trump up with a sentence for future political office at the federal level. They argue that Trump must be held accountable by the Senate so that he cannot call for violence again in the future. Threat from Trump supporters fans persists, warned
