Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah were seen entering a room on the United States Capitol that Trump’s lawyers were using to prepare for their arguments.
Trump’s lawyer, David Schoen, said the senators were “very friendly guys” who just wanted to make sure they were “familiar with the procedure” on the eve of their rebuttal to introducing the House’s impeachment managers.
When asked whether it is appropriate to meet with senators during the trial, Schoen said: “Yes, I think it is the practice of impeachment.”
“There is nothing about it that has any appearance of due process,” he added.
Some senators see themselves as impartial jurors during impeachment trials, while others lend a hand alongside their party.
Republican senators have already signaled that they will vote to absolve the former president of the “incitement to insurrection” charge, preventing a subsequent vote on Trump’s political future. In a 50-50 Senate, the House’s impeachment managers – all Democrats – need to persuade 17 Republican senators to join all members of their party to condemn Trump.
Cruz said the meeting with Trump’s defense team was an opportunity to “share our thoughts” about his legal strategy. A wide range of Senate Republicans harshly criticized the defense team on Tuesday, the opening day of the trial, arguing that Trump’s attorney Bruce Castor made an incoherent and unfocused argument when making the case that the lawsuit it is unconstitutional.
When asked if he is now comfortable with the Trump team’s legal strategy, Cruz said: “I think the end result of this impeachment trial is crystal clear for everyone.”
“Donald Trump will be acquitted,” he added. “It takes 67 votes to convict him and everyone in the Senate House understands that there are no votes to convict him, nor should there be.”
Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.