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- GOP Senator Tommy Tuberville again said he told Trump Pence was evacuated during the Capitol Riot.
- GOP Senator Bill Cassidy asked about the timing and Trump’s tweet attacking Pence, during the trial.
- Trump’s defense attorney dismissed Tuberville’s account as “hearsay.”
- Visit Insider’s Business section for more stories.
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville repeated his claim on Friday that he informed President Donald Trump about the evacuation of Vice President Mike Pence from the Senate during the siege on Capitol Hill. Trump’s team had cast doubt on the allegation during its defense.
“I said: Mr. President, they kicked out the vice president. They want me to hang up, I have to go,” Tuberville said, according to CNN and others. accounts. Tuberville also said he was “probably the only guy in the world” to hang up on the president.
The phone call and timeline came under scrutiny during Trump’s impeachment trial, as senators question whether Trump knew Pence was in danger by the violent mob when he tweeted attacking the vice president.
Read more: Meet the little-known power player with the ‘hardest job’ on Capitol Hill. It shapes Trump’s impeachment trial and Joe Biden’s agenda.
“Mike Pence did not have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our country and our Constitution,” Trump tweeted at 2:24 p.m. on Jan.6, as a crowd of his supporters approached the chamber of the Senate. Pence was evacuated at 2:13 p.m. local time.
Tuberville first revealed on Wednesday evening that he had informed Trump of Pence’s evacuation. The president called the senator from Alabama to encourage him to protest the certification of the election, according to several reports.
Trump had actually called Senator Mike Lee, who passed his cell phone to Tuberville. Lee’s office said on Friday it received Trump’s call at 2:26 p.m., or two minutes after Trump’s tweet, The Washington Post reported.
GOP Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana questioned Trump’s lawyers and impeachment officials specifically about the tweet during the questioning portion of the trial on Friday.
“The tweet and the lack of response suggest President Trump didn’t care that Vice President Pence was in danger or law enforcement was overwhelmed,” Cassidy said. “Does this show that President Trump tolerated Vice President Pence’s intimidation?”
Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen disputed the facts of the timeline presented by Cassidy, calling Tuberville’s claim a “hearsay.”
Following the exchange, reporters questioned Tuberville about the phone call, prompting him to reiterate his version of events.
Some lawmakers were also unhappy with the response from Trump’s lawyers.
Senator Elizabeth Warren told reporters she did not think the answer was adequate and that the question was important, but “Donald Trump’s lawyers have simply, once again, tried to distract, to watch with another way and distract from the underlying issue the evidence showed Donald Trump knew and when he knew it. “
Independent Senator Angus King also told reporters he believed the question was important and that the response from Trump’s lawyers was insufficient.
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