Donald Trump’s Senate impeachment trial is a clown unless a circus, according to Senator Lindsey Graham.
After a lawyer for Capitol riotor “QAnon Shaman” said his client would be willing to testify, the South Carolina Republican said it would turn the ordeal into a “complete circus”.
“I can’t think of a better way to turn the impeachment trial into a complete circus than calling QAnon Shaman as a witness to anything,” Graham wrote on Twitter.
The senator has repeatedly argued against the need for any witnesses.
“President Trump’s impeachment Chamber without a witness,” he continued. “If we open the door for witnesses in the Senate, many witnesses will be asked on a variety of topics. And the trial will last for months, not days ”.
Jacob Anthony Chansley, who famously invaded the Capitol dressed in a horned bearskin headdress, face paint and shirtless, now says he was “tricked” by former President Trump after he did not receive a pardon.
‘QANON SHAMAN’ WILLING TO TEST THE TRUMP IMPEACHMENT, SAYS THE LAWYER
After gaining notoriety for his characteristic costume, the shaman, a famous conspiracy theorist QAnon and Youtuber, went viral again after his mother said he hadn’t eaten in prison for days because they weren’t serving organic food.
Lawyer Albert Watkins said Chansley regretted “being in a position where he allowed this fraud to put him in a position to make decisions he shouldn’t have made”.
The lawyer told the Associated Press that he has not yet spoken to any lawmakers about the offer, and senators have not voted whether to allow witnesses during the trial.
Watkins said it is important for senators to hear the voice of someone who was allegedly incited by Trump. He described Chansley as having been “terribly in love” with Trump, but said that when he did not receive forgiveness after the turmoil, he felt “betrayed”.
LAWYER FOR ‘QANON SHAMAN’ SAYS CAPITOL RIOTER REGRETS TO BE ‘DUPIDO’ BY TRUMP
Trump was accused by the House of “inciting insurrection” after the riots and the Senate trial is scheduled to begin the week of February 8.
It will be the first impeachment trial of a former United States president.
While Democrats are considering whether to use witnesses in the trial, House of Democrats impeachment managers are likely to use part of the abundance of social media videos that in many cases were filmed by the protesters themselves.
Chansley is scheduled to be prosecuted on Friday in Washington, DC, where he faces charges of civil unrest, obstruction of an official process, disorderly conduct in a restricted building and demonstration in a Capitol building, among other charges.
Watkins argued last week that his client was practically “invited” to the Capitol by Trump and urged to take extreme measures to reverse the election results.
He was detained in his home state, Arizona, until his indictment in Washington, DC
Brie Stimson of Fox News contributed to this report.