The U.S. Senate impeachment trial proceedings against former President Donald Trump (R-TX) entered its fourth day on Friday (Feb. 12), and it was Time for the Trump defense team to speak. Senate Republicans praised the performance of the defense attorneys because of the strong defense conducted by Trump’s lawyers.
Michael van der Veen, a lawyer representing Trump, defended Friday that Trump’s speech before the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol did not use any inflammatory language and that many members of Congress were using similar rhetoric to that used by Trump in his speech.
Trump Lawyers Show Video Clips Showing Democrats’ Radical Rhetoric
Trump lawyers showed several video clips showing top Democrats such as the House impeachment manager, President Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling on (people) to “fight” for years, as a way to show that Trump’s use of the word on Jan. 6 was not an incitement to violence in the Capitol, but rather as political speech protected by the First Amendment.
Vine told senators that House Speaker Pelosi had said the 2016 election was hijacked and that Congress has a responsibility to protect our democracy, “and that she has called President (Trump) an impostor and a traitor, and more recently called our colleagues in the House ‘the enemy within.’
He added: “In addition, many Democratic politicians supported and encouraged the riots that destroyed some American cities last summer. When violent left-wing anarchists carried out an ongoing attack on a federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, Speaker Pelosi did not call it a riot. Instead, she called federal law enforcement to protect those who attacked the building. When violent mobs destroyed public property, she said, ‘People were doing what they were going to do.’
Democratic impeachment representatives accused Trump of inciting supporters to start a riot at the U.S. Capitol with some of the rhetoric in his Jan. 6 speech.
But Vice President Hercule had encouraged people to donate to the Minnesota Freedom Foundation, which has rescued defendants accused of murder, violent felonies and sex crimes. President Joe Biden and other senators have also repeatedly called for people to “beating Trump up.
David Schoen, one of the lead attorneys for Trump’s team, said the “hatred and anger” shown in the video showed the House impeachment manager “ignoring his own words and actions and setting a dangerous double standard.
Republican Senators Applaud Trump Lawyer’s Defense Performance
Responding to videos shown by Trump’s lawyers of Democrats repeatedly calling on supporters to ‘play hard to get’ in various situations, Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson said he was encouraged by the Trump team’s showing of such ‘powerful’ videos.
Johnson said, “The president’s lawyers defeated the case made by the House impeachment representatives. “They thwarted the case.
Even Sen. Lisa Murkowski, an Alaska Republican who will likely vote to convict Trump, said the defense team has improved its performance since the first day of the trial.
“I think they [Trump lawyers] are taking good defense initiatives today,” Murkowski said. “I thought the first two hours were good overall. I thought the defense was better today than other days.
Ron Johnson said, “I’m glad the president’s lawyers pointed out the gross hypocrisy (of Democrats).
Johnson said that if the rhetoric was an act of demagoguery, which began four years ago with the House impeachment representatives articulating a completely one-sided view over a two-day period, “I think the president’s lawyers just beat the case they made.
The president’s lawyers also defended that House impeachment managers manipulated the content of Trump’s speech they broadcast earlier in the week, saying Democrats took Trump’s speech out of context.
Democrats need 17 Republicans to join them to reach the two-thirds vote threshold needed for a conviction.
Republican senators say Trump will easily be found not guilty.
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