The lawyers of the former president of the United States Donald Trump have begun this Friday their defense in the political trial to which he is submitting in the Senate, describing the charge of incitement to the insurrection that is imputed as an “atrocious abuse”, in the words of the lawyer Michael Van der Veen.
“The article of ‘impeachment’ is an unjust and flagrantly unconstitutional act of political revenge,” said Van der Veen in his initial appearance, about an “atrocious abuse” of the Constitution “that only contributes to the division of the country in a moment in which you have to show unity on the priorities we share, “according to statements collected by Bloomberg.
Trump’s defense, led by attorneys David Schoen and Bruce Castor, is expected to take the Senate bench for just under four hours. Then, they will proceed to answer questions from senators about Trump’s role in the assault of his sympathizers on the Capitol, on January 6.
A final vote on the matter is not expected before Saturday at the earliest, and it is practically assumed that the former president will be acquitted in the absence of Republican votes necessary to guarantee a conviction. At least 17 senators from this party should vote in favor of it, and no more than five or six favorable ballots are expected, at most, in favor of a warning against the ex-president.
While the Republican Party has been almost invariably in favor of Trump’s acquittal, new videos of Trump’s supporters’ assault on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 has caused consternation among some senators. Supporters of the president actively persecuted some legislators and insulted security agents with shouts of “pigs” and “traitors.”
All this after the Democrats reproduced the words of the former president immediately before the raid, during a speech in front of the Capitol. “If you do not fight as if there were no tomorrow, you will be left without a country,” the president snapped. One of the Republican senators believes that the images only confirm “the kind of cretin Donald Trump is.”
“Actually, the Democrats are doing us a favor,” says the senator. “They are showing that Trump does not have the necessary qualifications to run for the White House again,” he adds, not to mention that these images will drive the aforementioned distancing from the former president within the Republican Party, who has acted for four years at his command. full service.
Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who has openly declared her opposition to Trump, already commented on this situation last Wednesday. “After the American people see the whole story, I will have a hard time believing that Donald Trump will be re-elected president,” she told reporters. Several Republicans consulted by ‘The Hill’ agree with that assessment.
