EXCLUSIVE: Trump’s lawyer Bruce L. Castor Jr. predicted his defense strategy for the former President Trump impeachment trial in the Senate, saying he will argue that “the whole process is unconstitutional, bad public policy and is setting a bad precedent. for the nation. “
Castor, in an exclusive interview with Fox News on Wednesday, described the defense strategy of Trump’s legal team.
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“We will argue that the whole process is unconstitutional, it is bad public policy and it is setting a bad precedent for the nation,” said Castor. “We will argue that everyone in the United States is entitled to due process, even if he is the President of the United States. And the President of the United States during the impeachment in the House did not have due process.”
“Due process requires an investigation – there has been none – and we will point that out,” said Castor. “Can you imagine if the police could arrest someone because we think it was him and then do the investigation? Of course not.”
He added: “But the House wants to create a separate class of people to whom the Bill of Rights applies – there is everyone and Donald Trump.”
Castor also said that the team plans to discuss the First Amendment and said the defense “will spend a lot of time on what the president said and the context in which he said it”.
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Before a crowd of Trump supporters invaded the Capitol on January 6, then President Trump held a demonstration, telling supporters he would “never give in”, and repeated baseless claims that the election was “stolen” from him and that he won in a landslide. “
During his comments, Trump pressured Pence, claiming that he should cancel certification of the presidential election results and send them “back to the states”, and said that if he did, Trump would be president for another four years.
Trump’s comments were made before a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the presidential election.
When asked whether the defense would focus on the ex-president’s tweets or posts on Facebook, which social media companies considered a violation of his policies, and permanently suspended him due to the risk of continued violence, Castor said his argument “includes everything what I think is important to show the context. “
Trump had his social media accounts suspended after posting a video during the rebellion, which led to several deaths. Trump told his supporters to “go home” but said the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him.
Trump later tweeted, “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred and overwhelming election victory is so unceremonious and cruelly stripped of great patriots who have been treated badly and unfairly for so long. Go home with love and peace.”
In this image from the video, Bruce Castor, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, speaks during Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial at the United States Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, February 9, 2021. (Senate television via AP)
Meanwhile, Castor also told Fox News that Trump’s defense will point to calls for unity from President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I will end the discussion with the calls for unity of the newly installed president, the newly installed vice president and several others who call for unity, and explain how what is happening in the Senate is the most distant thing possible to unite the country, “Castor said.
“The country is not going to come together until this party grudge is eased by about a thousand points,” he said.
“As an American, I am sad to see where the country has fallen and the political speech has turned into a speech really filled with hate,” he said. “The country was founded on a robust political debate, and a robust political debate means that you hear what your opponent says and strike back, but you don’t hate him, and that is what happened and I am very disappointed about it.”
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Castor says he does not consider the administrators of the Chamber “the enemy” or “opponents”, but those who have sworn to do what they believe to be “the best for the country”.
“When I look across the hall, I was literally right next to Mr. Raskin. I don’t see him as an enemy, not even as an opponent in the classic sense,” said Castor. “I see him as an opponent who is trying to do what he thinks is best for the country, while I try to do what I think is best for the country and the 45th president of the United States.”
Castor told Fox News that under the current political climate, he “must hate Mr. Raskin and he must hate me”.
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“Well, I don’t feel that way and I have no reason to think that he does,” said Castor.
“In fact, I believe that US senators are patriots and try to do what is best for the country, regardless of party or political opinions,” explained Castor. “And I really think – I have been elected and nominated for three decades or more – when you put your hand on the Bible and swear that you will uphold the principles of the United States Constitution, or in my case, the Pennsylvania Constitution, which changes a person, because such promises are made before God.
He added: “And I don’t want to be the guy in front of San Pedro explaining why I didn’t take this seriously and I also don’t believe that a US senator wants to be in that position.”
Castor said his argument is not to try to convince one party or the other.
“I’m trying to convince 100 people to be in favor of Trump’s legal position, whether they like him or not,” said Castor.
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As for the abilities of House administrators to present and argue their case that Trump sparked the insurrection on January 6, Castor said he does not know them “well enough to have an opinion on whether their ability is a place where we may be able to take advantage. “
“I would be surprised if the mayor appoints team members who don’t know what they are doing,” he said. “I just think that Casa’s administrators have a very difficult job because I don’t think they have a very good case.”
Castor said they “have a great emotional appeal that they can reveal about what happened on January 6, but they do not have enough legal basis to support the uprising article.”
“Their case is that what happened on January 6 is so bad that it justifies the repeal of all constitutional protections,” he said. “There is no set of facts that would justify revoking the freedoms guaranteed to Americans in the United States Constitution.”
Meanwhile, Castor said he expects the impeachment process to end sometime over the weekend, although he says he feels the House’s administrators “are willing to make unpredictable strategic decisions.”
As for witnesses, Castor said he “does not see reasonable people thinking they need to hear witnesses, when in fact the jurors in the case are themselves witnesses”.
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But if the Senate approves the witnesses, Castor said he can “say with certainty that we will call the witnesses and I will cross paths with the witnesses of the House administrators”.
Castor, however, did not reveal who Trump’s legal team would call as witnesses if it were an option.
When asked why he chose to represent Trump in his second impeachment trial, Castor gave a brief answer.
“One of my heroes in American history is another president for a term: John Adams,” said Castor. “And when British soldiers fired on the crowd in Boston in 1770 and were arrested for murdering Boston settlers, they needed a lawyer to defend them. John Adams defended them.”
He added: “Donald Trump needs a lawyer to defend him and I will defend him”.