Donald Trump’s legal team has its turn this Friday in the second Senate impeachment trial against him. Attorneys for the former US president are preparing to argue that a former president’s trial is unconstitutional and that Trump’s speech on January 6 did not incite the rioters who attacked the Capitol.
After two days of House impeachment prosecutors filed a case arguing that Trump incited the insurgents and failed to act to stop the riot as it unfolded – using disturbing new footage from the attack to convey his message – Trump’s defense is expected to respond that the Democrats’ presentation glorified the violence and that Trump’s speech urging his supporters to “fight” was figurative and protected by the First Amendment.
“When you use the word ‘fight’, most of the time during the case, it is clear that you are talking about legislators who fight for our rights, people who fight to defend and you know that everyone likes to ignore the word ‘peacefully ‘there,” Trump’s lawyer David Schoen told reporters Thursday.
The presentation will likely be shorter than the two-day case presentation it took for the Democrats. Schoen told reporters Thursday that Trump’s team expected to show up for about three to four hours on Friday, out of the 16 hours they have available. Trump’s lawyers are expected to finish Friday and not use a second day to present their case.
The quick presentation is another sign that the Trump team’s goal on Friday is simple: do no harm. Unlike Democratic prosecutors, who hoped to win over Republican senators with their presentation, Trump’s attorneys now hope to have the votes they need for acquittal, as most Republican senators say they will vote to acquit Trump because they believe that the trial is unconstitutional.
At the same time, the presentation of Trump’s defense on Friday could play a key role in the number of Republican senators voting that Trump is guilty, after six voted that the trial itself was constitutional on Tuesday.
This is how Trump’s lawyers plan to act
Following Tuesday’s discussion by Trump’s attorney Bruce Castor, which was criticized by Republican senators and angered Trump, Schoen is expected to take the lead in discussions this Friday. All four of Trump’s lawyers are expected to speak: Schoen, Castor, Michael van der Veen and William Brennan.
The team plans to use video, just as the Democrats did. In these they will show Democratic leaders using language similar to Trump, according to a source close to the former president’s legal team.
That includes now-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, who said outside the US Supreme Court last year: “I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, they have released a whirlwind. they will pay the price. They won’t know what hit them if they go through with these terrible decisions,” referring to Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Of course, Schumer’s comments did not lead to any violence or an attempt to overturn the results of an election. But Trump’s team plans to argue that Trump never intended for protesters at his rally to take over the Capitol.
Trump’s lawyers are also expected to focus on his comments in the January 6 speech urging supporters to protest “peacefully and patriotically,” as well as saying they must “fight like hell.”
Several key Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina; Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah, who are serving as jurors in the impeachment, met with Trump’s attorneys after the impeachment prosecutors’ presentation concluded Thursday afternoon.
“We were discussing his legal strategy and sharing our thoughts,” Cruz said after the meeting. “I think the end result of this impeachment is very clear to everyone. Every person in the Senate House understands that there are no votes to condemn, nor should there be.”