[ad_1]
WASHINGTON (AP) – Former President Donald Trump has said the performance of his lawyers on the opening day of his second impeachment trial was a disaster as Republican allies and senators questioned strategy and some called for another reshuffle of its legal team.
Trump, who was watching the debates in Washington from his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, was furious at what he saw, according to someone familiar with his thinking. Senators also criticized what they described as a fuzzy and rambling performance as Trump’s team and Democratic House officials began presenting their cases to the Senate jury.
While more than a handful of Republicans are unlikely to join Democrats in condemning the former president at the end of the trial, the proceedings were a chance for Trump to try to undo some of the damage to his legacy during the storming of the Capitol by a crowd of his supporters. Trump has been accused of inciting the Jan.6 insurgency and last month he became the first president in history to be impeached by the House twice.
But the Trump team – which was announced just over a week ago – seemed unprepared as they attempted a good cop, a bad cop routine that turned from flattery to legal, and contrasted dramatically with the focused emotional pleas of Democrats.
Trump – still the showman – was impressed by Democrats, who opened Tuesday’s session with a powerful video compiling scenes from the deadly attack on Congress. And he complained that his team – especially senior lawyer Bruce Castor – behaved poorly on television and looked weak in comparison, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter. private conversations.
The anger was picked up by Trump’s allies, who criticized the lawyers both publicly and privately and with repeated profanity.
“There is no argument. I have no idea what he’s doing. I don’t know why he’s saying what he’s saying, “said Alan Dershowitz, a lawyer who represented Trump in his first impeachment trial, as he weighed in on Castor in an appearance on Newsmax as the session was in progress.
Peter Navarro, a former Trump business adviser, had previously urged the former president to abandon his legal team and hire Republican Representative Matt Gaetz before the trial began, warning: “You have to get rid of these guys. . These people don’t understand. It’s a political trial. “
Republican members of the Senate seemed equally baffled, especially to Castor, who spent much of his time buttering senators with compliments, saluting the Democrats’ case and moving forward.
GOP Senator John Cornyn of Texas said Castor “was just rambling on and on and not really getting into the constitutional argument. He said Trump’s attorney, David Schoen, who spoke second, “stepped aside” and “did an efficient job. But I saw a lot of lawyers and a lot of argument and it wasn’t one of the best I’ve seen.
Before criticism mounted, another Trump adviser described Castor’s presentation as part of a “very clear deliberative strategy.” The adviser said after the emotionally charged opening from the Democrats, Castor proceeded to “turn the heat down” before “dropping the hammer on the unconstitutional nature of this impeachment witch hunt.”
The hammer did not appear to hit his nail.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted with Democrats on Tuesday to go ahead with the trial, said Trump’s team had done a “terrible job” and were “disorganized,” “random” and “Did all she could but to talk about the matter at hand.
GOP Senator Susan Collins of Maine, who also voted with the Democrats, said she was “bewildered” by Castor, “who didn’t seem to be making any arguments at all, which was an unusual approach to take. “
Texas Senator Ted Cruz, one of Trump’s staunchest allies, said he did not think lawyers did “the most efficient job”, while South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham , another close ally of Trump, said he didn’t know where Castor was going with his arguments.
Trump’s team did not respond to requests for comment on the day’s events or questions about planning legal team reshuffles.
Asked about a response to criticism from the GOP as he left the trial, Castor – who said during the trial that the team “changed what we were going to do” at the last minute because house officials did good job – – I would just say “we had a good day”. Schoen told reporters he had yet to speak to the president, but “should do better next time.”
“I mean, I always hope to improve myself. I hope I can do it, ”he said.
Trump broke up with his initial impeachment team just over a week before the Senate trial began, in part because Trump wanted them to use a defense based on unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud, and the lawyers didn’t were unwilling to do so.
___
Associated Press editor Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link