Donald Trump’s lawyers launched their attempt to defend the former president on Friday, saying the second impeachment trial was a “politically motivated witch hunt”.
Michael van der Veen, one of Trump’s lawyers, used that phrase on Friday to describe the Democrats’ motivation for Trump’s impeachment a second time. He argued that Trump’s heated rhetoric on January 6 was no different from the language that politicians frequently use in American politics today. Trump urged his supporters to “fight like hell” during a rally just before marching down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington and attacking the United States Capitol.
“No thinking person could seriously believe that the president’s speech on January 6 at Elipse was in any way an incitement to violence or insurrection,” said Van der Veen.
He also withdrew from the January 6 events, instead focusing on several cases in the past year in which he accused Democrats of using similar heated language and not doing enough to condemn violent protesters.
“This unprecedented effort is not about Democrats opposing political violence. It’s about Democrats trying to disqualify their political opposition. It is a culture of constitutional cancellation, ”he said. “History will record this shameful effort as a deliberate attempt by the Democratic party to defame, censor and cancel not only President Trump, but the 75 million Americans who voted for him.”
At one point, Trump’s lawyers represented a broad supercut of Democratic politicians using the word “struggle” in an attempt to argue that Democrats were being hypocritical because of Trump’s impeachment. But Democrats said Trump was not accused just for saying the word “fight” – he invited supporters to Washington on the day that Congress was counting the polling place and, after years of encouraging violence, told his supporters to “fight” the capital.
Democrats spent much of the week defending some of those arguments. They showed several videos in which the rebels shouted to the police that they had been invited by Trump, and pointed to several court documents in which protesters accused of crimes said they were acting on Trump’s orders.
“President Trump was not impeached because he used words that the House decided to be banned or unpopular. He was accused of inciting armed violence against the government of the United States of America, ”said David Cicilline, impeachment manager for the House, earlier this week.
Jamie Raskin, the House’s top Democratic prosecutor, addressed the claim that Trump’s statements were protected by the first amendment earlier in the week, saying it was “absurd”. While a citizen may demand the overthrow of the government, said Raskin, the president of the United States, who swears to defend the nation against all enemies, he cannot do the same.
“If you’re president of the United States, you’ve chosen a side with your oath of office,” said Raskin, a longtime constitutional law professor, earlier this week. “And if you break it, we can impeach, condemn, remove and permanently disqualify you from holding any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.”
Trump’s lawyers have signaled that they intend to present a brief defense today.
Lawyers will likely try to redirect the ex-president’s responsibility only to those who have besieged the Capitol. They also plan to argue that their speech at that day’s rally was protected by the first amendment. Trump’s lawyers must frame the impeachment trial as a rushed effort without due process, driven by Democrats’ personal animosity, according to the Associated Press.
Although the Trump team has 16 hours to present their case, they intend to use just three or four hours to do so, Schoen told reporters on Thursday. Republicans want to complete the trial quickly, according to Axios, after Democrats have set up a strong charge full of harrowing videos.
Trump’s lawyers will enter their arguments knowing that 17 Republicans would need to vote to plead guilty in order to convict him. It is unlikely that so many Republicans will vote against the former president, increasing his chances of being acquitted.
The Trump team can also revisit the argument that Trump cannot be impeached because he is no longer in office. Most senators – including six Republicans – rejected the argument after hearing hours of debate on the subject on Tuesday.
Friday will be the first time that Trump’s lawyers will present arguments at the trial since a difficult opening on Tuesday. Bruce Castor, a Pennsylvania prosecutor who worked as one of Trump’s lawyers, made sinuous initial comments that were difficult to follow, an act that reportedly infuriated Trump.
Depending on when the arguments are completed, there may be a vote on the trial as early as Saturday.