The Senate reconvened at 2:34 p.m. to hear the final part of Trump’s legal team’s arguments, presented by attorney Bruce Castor.
Castor began by rejecting the characterization that there had even been an insurrection at the United States Capitol, saying that “clearly there was no insurrection. Insurrection is an art term, defined by law. It involves taking a country. , a government in the shadows, grab the TV stations and have some plan on what you will do. “
He also punished Democrats for not relating the assault to Mr. Trump, saying that “the only question that needs to be answered is that Donald Trump was responsible for inciting the violence that came to this building?”
The Pennsylvania attorney also reiterated the claim that administrators selectively edited and manipulated the evidence they presented.
“Political hatred has no place in the U.S. justice system, and certainly not in the U.S. Congress, either,” he said.
Castor played video clips of President Joe Biden at rallies and speeches stating that his administration will stand up against violence and by law and order, juxtaposing them with a video of Democrats that had been played throughout the day.
“Don’t be fooled, and I will repeat it now and anytime you ask me, January 6 was a terrible day for our country. The attack on this building surprised us all,” Castor said. “President Trump did not incite or provoke the terrible violence that occurred on January 6, 2021. They know that.”
Castor said the evidence that Trump did not incite violence at the Capitol lies in his “admiration” for law enforcement and disgust for riots and political violence.
“It shows his long-standing hatred for violent protectors and his love for law and order, which he wears up his sleeve every day he served in the White House,” he said.
Castor named Trump the most pro-police and anti-mafia president in history. However, it took the White House three days to lower the flag of the Capitol police officer who died after suffering injuries during the January 6 events.
Castor also tried to clear up Mr. Trump’s remarks at the Jan. 6 morning rally, some of which were interpreted by House managers in his presentation. Castor said the former president only warned Republican senators and members of the House that they could face primary challenges if they did not oppose the counting of votes and not violence.
“The first way the House managers presented and wanted you to conclude, this is the criminal route,” he said. “But what the president said was in the American way.”
Although Castor tried to show that the violence at the Capitol was premeditated and did not occur at the urging of Mr. Trump, he did not take into account that the former president repeatedly resorted to Twitter to invite his supporters in Washington to concentrate. on January 6th.
“The January 6 speech did not provoke the riots. The president did not provoke the riots,” he said. “He did not explicitly or implicitly encourage the use of violence or lawless action, but in fact called for the peaceful exercise of the rights of the first amendment of all Americans to meet peacefully and call on his government a grievance repair “.
Castor also admitted another point of ignorance: he is not sure if his own testimony is under oath.
“I don’t know if we’re under oath here,” Castor said during his arguments.
Castor tried to defend Mr. Trump’s phone conversation with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and said there was “nothing dishonorable” in the former president talking to a state’s top election official. During the call, Trump urged Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes and said “there’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, you recalculated.” The former president lost to Biden by 11,779 votes.
“Let’s be clear. This trial is much more than President Trump,” Castor said. “It’s about silencing and banning speech that the majority disagrees with. It’s about canceling 75 million Trump voters and criminalizing political views. That’s what this trial is really about.”
After less than three hours of the 16 assigned to them, Castor reinstated the case in defense of Mr. Trump.
“This concludes the formal defense of the 45th President of the United States against the article of dismissal presented by the House of Representatives,” he said.
The Senate is now on a brief hiatus.
– Melissa Quinn and Kathryn Watson