The lawyers of Donald Trump, the former President of the United States, stated on Friday that Democratic leaders provided no evidence Trump provoked last month’s deadly U.S. Capitol riot and used his 2nd impeachment trial to gain political scores. The former Republican president is facing trial in the Senate on a charge of provoking the 6th January revolt by his supporters. Those supporters stormed the Congress seat in Washington to stop representatives from certifying current U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, resulting in the deaths of five civilians, including a police officer.
The lawyers of Donald Trump argued that his remarks, including a blistering speech that day encouraging supporters to fight like hell to stop the certification of Biden win that protected by the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution, which certifies the right to free speech. One of Trump’s lawyers, Michael van der Veen, said that to claim that the president in any way desired, wished, or invigorated violent or lawless behavior took as a monstrous and preposterous lie. The U.S. Senate closed its session at 06:29 pm. A concluding up-or-down vote to convict Trump could come as early as Saturday.
The members of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives showed videos and shared tweets on their accounts in argument this week and said made their point that Trump set the stage for the violence by falsely claiming the 2020 election results as fraudulent and urging his supporters with his rhetoric long before 6th January. They said that Trump egged the mob to Washington’s marching orders and did nothing to stop the violence as several channels telecasted on television. They said his single request to act peacefully didn’t clear him.
Trump team portrayed the impeachment trial as a political hunt
A few Republican senators, who remain popular among Republican voters, came out against Trump and said that the Democrats unlikely to gain a conviction against Trump. Moreover, Trump’s team played an approximately ten-minute video showing prominent Democratic leaders using the word fight in their political speeches. David Schoen, Trump’s lawyer, said while addressing Democrats that you did not do anything wrong. It is a word people usually use, but please stop the hypocrisy.
The defense team also described the impeachment trial of Trump as little greater than the result of a political witch-hunt by Democratic leaders who tried to get Trump for four years. Senators sought to confirm Whether Trump knew Mike Pence endangered by the Capitol riot when he Twitted to criticize him. Tommy Tuberville, the Republican Senator, said that he told Trump over the phone call that Pence already evacuated from the scene for his safety.
Whereas, Trump’s lawyers gave incompatible answers in response during the debate. The defense case of the former president followed two days of video presentations from nine House Democratic leaders serving as prosecutors. They showed videos of Trump cheering violence at his political rallies, repeating his election fraud claims, and egging on his supporters to gather in Washington on 6th January for a rally.
Trump Conviction Unlikely
The U.S. impeached Donald Trump on 13th January. Conviction in the hundred-member Senate requires a two-thirds majority, such as at least seventeen Republicans would need to defy Trump. Moreover, the president showed his concern to reporters at the White House that his Republican friends do. Van der Veen described the double standard at the heart of the prosecution’s case against the former president by arguing that some Democratic leaders endorsed and encouraged violence that blows up at some anti-racism protests all over the United States last summer without facing any legal penalties.
Further, he said that Democrats proved that their opposition to mobs and their viewpoint of using the National Guard completely depends on their political views. Previously, the Senate voted heavily along party lines on Tuesday that the Trump impeachment trial was legal even though his term ended on 20th January. Six Republican senators also endorsed the Democratic viewpoint. If Trump approved guiltless, the Senate could choose to censure him or even vote to ban him from holding public office again.
Source: Web
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, said that the decision of pursuing the latter option would need to wait until the trial ends. The Number 2 Republican in the chamber, Senator John Thune, indicated that a disapproval motion might be in the cards. John further said that he didn’t think an effort to ban the former president from holding public office again under the fourteenth Amendment would go anywhere.
Trump is the first U.S. President to face impeachment trial twice
None of the sides announced so far any intention to call witnesses, leaving senators on the way for final arguments and vote as early as Saturday. Unluckily, Donald Trump became the first United States President to impeached twice and the first in the country’s history to face trial after leaving office. Trump’s first impeachment trial, which stopped his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, ended in clearing one year ago in the Senate.
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