Rove: Chances of conviction increase if Giuliani represents Trump in Senate impeachment trial

Republican strategist Karl RoveKarl Christian RoveKarl Rove tears up Michael Flynn, Sidney Powell over election demands The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Mastercard – Democracy leaders back smaller COVID-19 relief bill as pandemic escalates More conservatives break with Trump over electoral demands MORE suggested on Sunday that President TrumpDonald TrumpFacebook Temporarily Bans Ads For Weapon Accessories Following Capitol Sasse Riots, In Fiery Editorial Says QAnon Destroys Section 230 Of The GOP That Worked After The Insurgency But Not Before: How To Regulate social media LEARN MORE is at greater risk of the Senate voting to convict him in his second impeachment trial if his personal lawyer Rudy GiulianiRudy Giuliani What Our Kids Should Know After The Capitol Hill Riot How To Stop Trump’s Secret Pardons Trump Tells Assistants Not To Pay Giuliani Legal Fees: MORE report is the spearhead of its defense.

Rove said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch mcconnellCommunications director Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellBoebert resigns amid riot on Capitol Hill: Emergency report mounts for new franchise bill Senate Democrats wary of filibuster(R-Ky.) ‘S statements about the trial, in which he did not order Senate Republicans to vote against the conviction, are “a sign that every Republican senator must take this seriously.”

“I think it will all come down to what the president’s defense is,” Rove added.

“Rudy Giuliani charted a very bad path in the morning papers,” Rove said, pointing to the attorney’s comments suggesting the president could not have instigated the deadly riots on Capitol Hill earlier this month because his allegations unproven electoral theft were true. Last week, the House impeached Trump for his role in the riots, making him the only president to be impeached twice.

The voter fraud argument, Rove noted on Sunday, “has been rejected by more than 50 courts,” including some appointed by Trump.

A Giuliani defense, he added, “raises the likelihood that more than 17 Republicans will vote for conviction.”

Giuliani also told ABC News that he was working on Trump’s impeachment defense and that the president could not have incited the crowds because they did not immediately walk on Capitol Hill after his speech at a rally.

“People should be exhausted. People would have to flee this frozen speech all the way to Capitol Hill, and it is essentially incitement, ”he said.

The former New York mayor spoke at the same rally and called for a “trial by combat.”

“I am ready to stake my reputation, the president is ready to stake his reputation, on the fact that we are going to find crime [in the election]”, He said at the time.

Speaking to Brett Samuels of The Hill last week, Giuliani insisted the term was a reference to the HBO series “Game of Thrones” and not a literal invocation of violence.