Former Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is an unconstitutional act of “political theater” by Democrats who have ignored key facts about the Capitol revolt in its rush to trial, his lawyers argued in a long written defense Monday.
The 75-page memorandum of trial says the indictment of “incitement to insurrection” against Trump is refuted by words he actually said to his supporters before they stormed congressional halls, as well as evidence showing that the attack was really pre-planned.
“Someone might have been excused for thinking that Democrats’ feverish hatred of citizen Trump and his ‘Trump disorder syndrome’ would have already broken, as he is no longer the president, and yet for the second time in just over a year the U.S. Senate is preparing to be part of an impeachment tribunal, but this time about a private citizen who is a former president, ”his lawyers wrote.
With the trial scheduled to begin Tuesday, Trump’s lawyers accused Democrats of trying to “erase a mechanism by which they could silence a political opponent and a minority party” and urged the Senate to “briefly reject this blatant political act.”
“The truth is that the people who criminally violated the Capitol did so of their own free will and for their own reasons,” lawyers Bruce Castor, David Schoen and Michael van der Veen argue in the new presentation.
During a Monday morning press conference in Queens, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said both sides were “finalizing a resolution … that would ensure a fair, honest, bipartisan trial of removal from the Senate “.
“Truth and accountability are essential,” Schumer said.
“Some people say, ‘Oh, let this go.’ Oh, no. Something so horrible, so creepy. [as what] happened January 6, can not be swept under the carpet. The whole truth needs to come out and then accountability once the truth comes out. That is what we intend to do in this trial. “
Schumer also said that “each party will have enough time to argue” and that “there will be a vote” if the House managers want to present the testimony of the witnesses. ”That is what they asked for.They were not sure they wanted witnesses. “They wanted to keep the option. That’s what we do,” he said.
Trump’s defense will argue that the trial is unconstitutional and that a careful analysis of Trump’s words in a pre-riot speech will then clear him of the wrongdoings.
“Mr. Trump concluded his speech at the ellipse by stating:[s]or We walk along Pennsylvania Avenue. I want to thank you all. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you all for being here, this is amazing. Thank you so much. Thank you, ”says the presentation.
“Despite allegations by chamber administrators against Mr. Trump, his statements cannot and cannot reasonably be construed as a call for immediate violence or a call for a violent overthrow of the United States government.”
During his speech, Trump told supporters he was tricked into re-election by fraud and urged supporters to “fight like hell” to persuade lawmakers to invalidate voters from swing states. Skirmishes near the Capitol began before the speech ended.
Five people died after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building and disrupted President Biden’s certification of victory.
The archive suggests that the chronology of Trump’s words will be intensely focused, even after riots erupted against the building. Democrats and some Republicans say Trump took too long to demand on Twitter that the siege end.
Trump’s lawyers write: “The suggestion by chamber administrators that President Trump did not act quickly enough to quell the violence is not absolutely true. Upon hearing the reports of violence, he tweeted, begging the crowd to be “peaceful,” followed by a video asking people to “go home” and do it in “peace.”
According to the video analysis, the first violation of the building occurred at 2:12 p.m., Jan. 6. Trump’s first post-break tweet said at 2:38 p.m., “Please support the police and the Capitol law enforcement. They’re really on our side. Keep the peace. ! “
Trump’s legal team also argues that Trump’s right to free speech is beginning to violate the law and that the procedures violate the Constitution because Trump is now a president.
And lawyers address a statement from Democrats that the trial is allowed according to the 1876 precedent. The House was indicted and the Senate tried a former cabinet member, William Belknap, for bribing him as a secretary of war.
Trump’s lawyers write, “While historical accounts suggest that few senators believed Belknap was innocent, most who voted to acquit him did so because they did not believe the Senate had jurisdiction to convict someone who was no longer in office. the charge “.
It is considered unlikely that 17 Republicans in the Senate will vote to condemn as required. Although Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Said the riots were “provoked by the president” and that he was open to condemnation, he joined 45 of the 50 Republicans voting not allowing the trial because it is supposedly unconstitutional.