Donald Trump, the disgraced, twice-impeached, one-term president who never won the popular vote, has been impeached by the House of Representatives for committing the worst crime any president has ever been formally accused of: inciting an insurrection against the government he was sworn to lead and protect. One would think the seriousness of the crime would inspire him to choose only the best attorneys to represent him during the Senate trial, but it seems Trump can’t get “only the best” anymore. Instead, he got Bruce Castor, who flopped spectacularly on the very first day.
so, uh, Trump's impeachment trial strategy appears to be to just have folks go out there and wing it like it's an open mic night or something pic.twitter.com/FkF1xI6pHo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2021
Castor, who once defended Bill Cosby, had even Republicans confused. He rambled about the fall of Rome, about why we call a senator “my senator,” and various other subjects during his presentation on the subject of whether impeaching a president who has already left office is unconstitutional. Castor never seemed to actually get around to that subject, instead saying that the conviction trial was just politically motivated.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-IA), who voted with Democrats after having originally voted that it was not constitutional to convict a former president, said:
‘Anyone who listened to those arguments would recognize that the House managers were focused, relied upon and trusted upon the opinion of legal scholars. Anyone who listened to President Trump’s legal team saw they were unfocused, they attempted to avoid the issue and they talked about everything but the issue at hand.’
Here's Bruce Castor admitting that Trump lost fair and square pic.twitter.com/cNLUqkqDyo
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2021
Some of Castor’s finest moments during arguments included his admission that the American people really had chosen a new president, Joe Biden, which is a departure from Trump’s endless insistence that he won and the election was stolen, and that – in a stunning moment during his opening – if Trump had really incited an insurrection, he should be arrested rather than impeached and barred from holding office.
”[If you] actually think that President Trump committed a criminal offense…you go and arrest him…. The Department of Justice does know what to do with such people, and so far I haven’t seen any activity in that direction.’
Castor winds down his very bizarre speech by daring the DOJ to arrest Trump pic.twitter.com/jmoxdIU6Pm
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 9, 2021
According to reports, Trump was apoplectic watching the proceedings. While Democrats gave a focused, heartfelt, and sincere presentation, Trump’s lawyers appeared wildly unfocused and confused by the proceedings.
According to the Associated Press:
‘Trump, who was watching the proceedings in Washington from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, was furious at what he saw, according to a person familiar with his thinking. Senators, too, criticized what they described as an unfocused and rambling performance as Trump’s team and Democratic House managers began to lay out their cases in front of the Senate jury.’
Former President Trump, watching the opening day of his impeachment trial from his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, was impressed by the Democratic prosecutors. His own defense team? Not so much. https://t.co/A9yIDm0qlK
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 10, 2021
Featured image screenshot via Twitter video
