Washington – Donald Trump’s lawyers on Friday said Democrats had provided no evidence the former president incited last month’s deadly United States Capitol riot and had used his second impeachment trial to settle political scores.
Trump is on trial in the US Senate on a charge of inciting the January 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 US 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 ten-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.
Democrats were unimpressed by the presentation on Friday.
“It fails to pass the red-face test. It’s aimed at mainly a jury of one – Donald Trump.” Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters.
The defense case followed two days of presentations by the nine House Democrats serving as prosecutors.
They showed videos of the Republican former president cheering violence at his rallies, repeating his election fraud claims and urging his supporters to gather in Washington on January 6 for a rally he said would be “wild”.
The House impeachment managers argued that Trump planted the seeds for the riot by encouraging violence and making false claims about widespread electoral fraud long before January 6.
In response to a question, Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, one of the House impeachment managers, said on Friday that Trump had summoned the mob to Washington, given the crowd its marching orders and then did nothing to stop the violence that ensued.
“This violent, bloody insurrection that occurred on January 6 would not have occurred but for President Trump.” Castro said. “That mob didn’t come out of thin air” and there was nothing random about the attack. (Reuters)
