Three GOP senators meet with Trump lawyers on eve of impeachment defense presentation



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The senses. Lindsey Graham from South Carolina, Ted Cruz from Texas and Mike Lee from Utah were spotted entering a room on the U.S. Capitol that Trump’s lawyers were using to prepare their arguments.

Trump’s attorney David Schoen said the senators were “very nice guys” who just wanted to make sure they were “familiar with the procedure” on the eve of their rebuttal to the presentation by officials. dismissal of the House.

When asked if it was appropriate to meet with the senators during the trial, Schoen replied, “Oh yes, I think that’s the practice of impeachment.”

“There is nothing about this thing that has any semblance of due process,” he added.

Some senators see themselves as impartial jurors in impeachment trials, while others lend a hand alongside their party.

Republican senators have already announced that they will vote to acquit the former president of the charge of “inciting insurgency”, preventing a later vote on Trump’s political future. In a 50-50 Senate, House impeachment officials – who are all Democrats – must persuade 17 Republican senators to join with every member of their party in condemning Trump.

Managers on Thursday showed clips of Trump’s speech ahead of the Capitol rampage on Jan.6, in which he urged his supporters to “fight like hell,” “never give up” and “never concede.” Many Republican senators point out that Trump also said “to make your voices heard peacefully and patriotically.” They also blamed the rioters rather than the former president for the deadly violence that day.

Cruz said the meeting with Trump’s defense team was an opportunity to “share our thoughts” on their legal strategy. A wide range of Senate Republicans harshly criticized the defense team on Tuesday, the opening day of the trial, claiming that Trump’s attorney Bruce Castor made a rambling and untargeted argument that the procedure was unconstitutional.

When asked if he was now comfortable with Team Trump’s legal strategy, Cruz said, “I think the end result of this impeachment trial is clear to everyone.”

“Donald Trump will be acquitted,” he added. “It takes 67 votes to condemn him and every person in the Senate chamber understands that there is no voice to condemn and that there shouldn’t be.”

Clare Foran, Ted Barrett and Ali Zaslav contributed to this report.

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