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IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Nicolle Wallace: Trump’s Lawyers Are Arguing the Attack on the Capitol Was Already Planned So He Didn’t Start It

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One of the many arguments from former President Donald Trump’s lawyers defending him in his second impeachment trials is that he couldn’t possibly have caused the attack on the U.S. Capitol.

At the top of her show Tuesday, MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace read the case against Trump released by House Impeachment Managers. In response, Trump and his attorneys filed their response, which Wallace found particularly puzzling.

“Their argument centers mainly on process points,” she said. “Claiming that it’s unconstitutional to impeach a president once he’s out of office. We’ll work to debunk that in a moment but first, their arguments on substance, especially the words uttered publicly by their client are interesting too. Here’s what appears to be the very best they could come up with: ‘It is denied that the phrase ‘if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore’ had anything to do with the action at the Capitol. As it was clearly about the need to fight for election security.’ What? That’s not how the insurrectionists took Trump’s words at all.”

She showed videos from Trump’s supporters watching his speech. When Trump called for them to “fight like hell” and “march to the Capitol” they began shouting and chanting “take the Capitol!”

“And this complicates the defense lawyer’s case too,” Wallace said, citing reports that Trump gleefully watched the attack on the Capitol from the White House. “So, we all know now that Donald Trump went home and watched the insurrection unfold on live TV for hours and hours and hours. Didn’t even take calls. And he never rushed to Twitter to clarify, ‘whoa, whoa, wait, my supporters misunderstood me.’ He never addressed the American people as president until much, much later. Until much of the damage was already done hours after the Capitol was breached and even then, he told the insurrectionists he ‘loved them.'”

See her opener below:

 

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IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Senate Votes to Allow Witnesses to Be Considered in Trump Impeachment Trial

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In a surprise move the U.S. Senate voted to allow witnesses to be considered in the impeachment trial of Donald Trump, a move not anticipated when their day concluded Friday. The vote was 55-45. Five Republicans voted to allow witnesses.

The move opens the door to witnesses, additional votes will likely be required before witnesses are heard.

Impeachment manager Jamie Raskin made the announcement Saturday morning he wants to subpoena Republican Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington.

Rep. Herrera Beutler was informed of the phone call between President Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on January 6, when McCarthy urged Trump to call off the insurrection.

Democrats believe that call is proof Trump knew his vice president was in danger and appeared to not care. That would also show Trump was not obeying his oath of office.

This is a breaking news and developing story. Details may change. 

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IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

‘Just Rambled on and on and on’: GOP Senators Slam Trump Impeachment Attorneys

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The U.S. Senate voted 56-44 that the trial of former president Donald Trump is constitutional, after nearly five hours of opening arguments from prosecution and defense attorneys. Six Republicans broke ranks to vote with the Democrats, and by most accounts the Democratic attorneys for the prosecution did a far better job than the president’s attorneys, David Schoen and Bruce Castor.

In fact, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of the six Republican Senators who voted against Trump on Tuesday specifically said he voted “for the side that did a good job” because the Trump attorneys were so bad.

Senator Cassidy was not the only Republican disappointed with the defense.

CBS News’ Nancy Cordes reports trump’s defense attorneys “appeared to confuse” the Senators. “They were looking at each other. They were whispering. It was almost as if you had gone to a math class and got an English lesson instead.”

CNN’s Manu Raju says there was “lots of criticism” from Republicans.

One of the most stalwart Trump supporters in the Senate, John Cornyn, panned the defense:

Senator Ted Cruz was not impressed:

Nor was Lisa Murkowski:

Susan Collins was “perplexed.”

Of course, it wasn’t just Republican Senators who were displeased:

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IMPEACHMENT TRIAL

Democrats to Reveal Evidence Against Trump That ‘Nobody Has Seen Before’ During His Trial

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On Tuesday, with President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial for incitement of insurrection set to begin, multiple news sources reported that House Democrats plan to reveal previously unseen evidence implicating the former president in the invasion of the U.S. Capitol.

According to CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju, House impeachment managers are saying they are confident they have a “devastating” case against Trump. It is expected their case will include video footage of the rioters and testimony from people present at the invasion.

It is widely expected that Democrats do not currently have the votes to convict Trump, as 45 Republicans have signed onto a resolution attempting to declare it unconstitutional to remove a former president — a position many mainstream legal experts say is wrong.

While Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) has suggested not every Republican who considers the trial unconstitutional has made up their mind on the merits, CNN reports that others, like Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), believe the final vote will largely line up with the resolution on constitutionality, which would be insufficient to convict Trump even if all 5 Republicans who consider the trial constitutional vote to do so.

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