Former President Donald Trump is certainly no stranger to sham investigations against him and the latest impeachment hoax is yet another example of Democrats doing whatever they possibly can to fuel their rage-hate for the 45th president, even as he’s been out of office for weeks.
Trump’s impeachment lawyers might have had a rough start earlier in the week, but they brought out the heavy guns on Friday, calling out Democrats for their past behaviors that could now be considered impeachable, as well as scoring points for Trump’s side left and right.
Their main goal, seemingly, was to frame the Senate impeachment trial as yet another partisan witch hunt, which will likely have millions of people nodding in agreement at home.
Reuters has the story:
Donald Trump’s lawyers on Friday said Democrats had provided no evidence the former president incited last month’s deadly U.S. Capitol riot and had used his second impeachment trial to settle political scores.
Trump is on trial in the U.S. Senate on a charge of inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection by his supporters who stormed the seat of Congress in Washington to stop lawmakers from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory, resulting in the deaths of five people including a police officer.
Trump’s lawyers argued that his remarks, including a fiery speech that day urging supporters to “fight like hell” to stop the election certification, were protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which ensures the right to free speech.
“This trial is about far more than President Trump. It is about silencing and banning the speech the majority does not agree with,” said Bruce Castor, one of Trump’s lawyers. “I urge you instead to look to the principles of free expression and free speech.”
In arguments this week, Democratic members of the House of Representatives said Trump had set the stage for the violence by falsely claiming the election results were fraudulent and egging on his supporters with fiery rhetoric.
The Democrats are unlikely to gain a conviction though as few Republican senators have come out against Trump. The trial could end as early as Saturday.
Trump’s team played a roughly 10-minute video showing prominent Democrats including Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other party officials using the word “fight” in political speeches.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Trump lawyer David Schoen said, addressing Democrats. “It’s a word people use, but please stop the hypocrisy.”
Trump’s defense team also portrayed the impeachment trial as little more than the result of a political witch hunt by Democrats who had been trying to get Trump for four years.
Many high-profile Republicans and regular folks like me were pretty harsh on Trump’s lawyers earlier this week for their dismal, confusing performance, but I think it’s safe to say they’ve redeemed themselves totally at this point in time. Well done.
ARTICLE SOURCE: thefederalistpapers.org
