Washington – Most Republican senators voted that former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is unconstitutional after hearing nearly four hours of arguments from impeachment managers in the House and Trump’s lawyers on the first day of proceedings.
However, while most Republican Party senators determined that there is no constitutional basis for a trial, many were not impressed by the presentation of the former president’s lawyers.
“President Trump’s team was disorganized. They did everything they could, except to talk about the issue at hand. And when they talked about it, they kind of slid over it, almost as if they were ashamed of their arguments,” Senator Bill Cassidy, from the Republican Party. he told reporters after the first day of the trial.
“If I’m an impartial judge and one side is doing a great job and the other side is doing a terrible job on the matter at hand, as an impartial judge, I will vote for the side that did a good job,” added Cassidy, who was one of only six Republicans who voted in favor of the constitutionality of holding a trial.
Many of the Republicans’ criticisms were directed at Bruce Castor, the lawyer who introduced the former. In an inconsistent speech, Castor argued that it would be a violation of Trump’s right to freedom of expression to conduct an impeachment trial. But his argument was derailed with seemingly unrelated tours, such as when he extensively praised the senators’ integrity and patriotism.
Senate TV / Reuters
“To be fair, I was really shocked by the first lawyer who came up to former President Trump. I couldn’t find out where he was going,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski, another Republican who voted that the trial was constitutional. Senator Susan Collins, who also voted in favor of the trial’s constitutionality, said she was “perplexed” by Castor’s argument.
But even some Republicans who voted to reject the trial criticized Castor’s performance.
“I thought the president’s lawyer, the first lawyer, just rambled on indefinitely and didn’t really address the constitutional argument. Finally, the second lawyer solved the problem and I thought he did an effective job,” Senator John Cornyn told reporters.
Senator Lindsey Graham said of Castor: “I thought I knew where I was going, and I really didn’t know where I was going.”
“It took a long time to get to where I think the essence of the issue is,” said Graham.
David Schoen, who spoke after Castor, argued that the impeachment trial was a Democratic party ploy to prevent Trump from seeking the job again. He also argued that the trial was hasty and did not allow due process.
“I don’t think lawyers have done the job more effectively,” acknowledged Senator Ted Cruz. Cassidy told reporters that at one point during the discussions, he leaned over to Cruz and asked, “Are they talking about the issue at hand?”
“And he said, ‘Not now,'” added Cassidy.