But at various points in their 75-page trial note, Trump’s lawyers themselves have distorted or omitted critical facts.
The advocates – Bruce L. Castor, Jr., David Schoen and Michael T. van der Veen – put forward a series of constitutional arguments in the memorandum. In particular, they argued that the Constitution does not allow the Senate to hold an indictment of a former president. They also argued that it was unconstitutional to accuse Trump of “political speech” which they said was protected by the First Amendment.
Many legal experts say that both of these arguments are wrong. In this article, however, we will set aside the constitutional debate. Our focus is on the part of the memorandum in which the lawyers tried to defend Trump’s actual behavior.
Trump’s lawyers wrote that, of more than 10,000 words in Trump’s speech at The Ellipse Park near the White House on the day of the uprising, “Mr. Trump has used the word ‘fight’ a little over a handful of times and each time in the figurative sense that has long been accepted in public discourse when people are asked to stand and use their voice to talk about issues. to hear what is important to them; it was not and could not be interpreted to encourage acts of violence. ‘
Facts first: Trump used the word ‘fight’ or its variants 20 times in his January 6 address.
There is no fixed definition of ‘handful’, so we can not definitively declare the claim false, but 20 times is a lot. And while we’ll leave that to others to determine how literal or figurative Trump was, some of the 20 references were pretty punctual.
Towards the end of the speech, Trump said, “And we fight. We fight like hell. And if you do not fight like hell, you will not have a country anymore.”
Early in the speech, he said: “Republicans are constantly fighting like a boxer with his hands tied behind his back. It’s like a boxer. And we want to be so nice. We want to have such respect for everyone, even bad people. “And we’ll have to fight a lot harder. And Mike Pence will have to go through for us, and if he does not, it will be a sad day for our country, because you have been sworn to uphold our Constitution.”
Trump spoke about his desire for Pence to prevent the certification of Joe Biden’s election votes – which Pence never really had the power to do.
The uprising timeline
Trump’s lawyers claim that ” a simple timeline of events unequivocally proves that the riots were not inspired by the president’s speech during the Ellipse. “The lawyers quoted an article that noted that the park is 2.6 km from the Capitol and that barriers around the Capitol were first violated before Trump even spoke.
Facts first: Because rioters were still present at the Capitol more than three hours after Trump closed the speech, people did it more than enough time to attend Trump’s speech at the park and then storm the Capitol; the FBI assert that some participants made this step, including one who allegedly went to her hotel and then to the Capitol after the Trump speech. It’s true that the timeline shows that someone who attended the entire speech at the park could not be one of the very first people to trespass on the Capitol, but that’s a closer assertion than Trump’s lawyers make. .
And all of this ignores the fact that insurgents near the Capitol could have listened to Trump’s speech on their phones or been inspired by Trump’s previous rhetoric.
Who violated the Capitol and why
Trump’s lawyers argued: “The true truth is that the people who have violated the Capitol criminally did so on their own initiative and for their own reasons, and that they are being prosecuted.”
The lawyers linked in a footnote to an article in The Gateway Pundit, a right-wing website known for promoting false conspiracy theories and banned on Twitter over the weekend. The article began by claiming that ‘anti-Trump groups were mainly committed [the] uprising on the American Capitol on 6 January. “The footnote of the lawyers said about the insurgents:” Some anti-Trump, others anti-government. ”
Facts first: This is inaccurate by omission. It is alleged that many participants in the uprising have in court documents the FBI said their actions were motivated by their support for Trump – and some even said they felt they had been directly instructed by Trump to act. The list of people charged with the uprising include both pro-Trump alleged members of right-wing extremist groups and Trump supporters who are not affiliated with formal groups.
While the ideology of some alleged contenders may be difficult to establish, there is no basis for the suggestion that the uprising was committed primarily by Trump opponents.
Trump’s video during the uprising
Trump’s lawyers noted that during the uprising, Trump “told rioters to go home.” In a footnote on the same page, attorneys elaborated that Trump “on hearing the reports of violence tweeted a video urging people to ‘go home’ and do so in ‘peace’.”
Facts first: These statements omit the key context. In the same video in which Trump urged rioters to ‘go home in peace’, he continued to lie that the election was ‘stolen from us’ and that it was a ‘fraudulent election’. (And he told the rioters that “we love you” and that “you are very special.”) In addition, Trump did not tweet the video until 16:17 Eastern, over two hours after the rioters entered the Capitol and more than three hours after the barriers outside the building were first breached. Also, CNN and other media reported that Trump had to push through allies to release the video.
And in a tweet nearly two hours after the video, which was quickly removed by Twitter, Trump appears to be rationalizing the violence, while also repeating his lie about the election result: ‘These are the things and events that occur when a sacred landslide occurs. election victory is so unceremoniously & maliciously swept away from great patriots who have been treated badly and unfairly for so long. Go home with love and in peace. Remember this day forever! ”
Trump’s response to violence
Trump’s lawyers have rejected media reports about the former president’s reaction to the riot. “There is no legitimate evidence, nor can it ever exist, that President Trump was ‘delighted’ with the events at the Capitol. He, like the rest of the country, was appalled by the violence,” they wrote. .
Facts first: This is disputed. Several media outlets reported in January that Trump was not startled by the riot when he saw it unfold on television.
CNN reported: “People in the White House were visibly shaken by Trump’s response to the mob violating Capitol Hill. The president was borderline enthusiastic about the protests and did not want to condemn them, several people said.” The New York Times reports: “When supporters stormed the Capitol on Wednesday, Mr. Trump was initially pleased, officials said, and disregarded aides who asked him to step in.” And The Washington Post reports: “Although he did not necessarily enjoy himself, he was ‘confused’ about the spectacle because, according to a good adviser, he thought his supporters were literally fighting for him. But this person said he turned off is by what he considers the ‘low-class’ spectacle of people in ragtag costumes rummaging through the Capitol.’
Trump’s behind-the-scenes actions
Trump’s lawyers said of the former president: “He and the White House have taken immediate steps to coordinate with authorities to provide everything needed to counter the rioters.”
Facts first: This is also disputed. Trump’s lawyers did not say what these ‘immediate steps’ were, so this claim is too vague for us to definitively verify, but it is noteworthy that Trump was initially resist deploy the national guard. It was Pennies who took the lead in deploying the guard and spoke with Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and then-Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller.
