‘He Just Staggered’: Republicans Not Impressed by Trump’s Prosecution Advocates Trump Accusation (2021)

The actions of Donald Trump’s legal team on the first day of his second indictment provoked sharp criticism from Republican senators and other spectators, many of whom appeared unabashed by the sometimes shaky and incoherent opening statements.

Two members of the former president’s legal team, Bruce Castor and David Schoen, on Tuesday tried to persuade the Senate to drop the constitutional hearing. Castor’s performance in particular has drawn criticism as a wavering and flawed focus.

Several Republican senators have said they do not understand the lawyers’ arguments. Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted with Democrats to continue the trial, said Trump’s team did a “terrible job” and was “disorganized,” “random” and “did everything that they could not but talk about the question “.

Cassidy was not the only Republican dissatisfied with Trump’s defense team.

Susan Collins, a Republican senator from Maine, said she was “surprised” by Castor, who is Trump’s chief advocate, and said he “apparently made no arguments, which was an unusual approach.”

“The president’s attorney just kept going and going,” said Sen. John Cornyn, a Republican from Texas. “I saw a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments, and it was not one of the most beautiful I’ve seen.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of Trump’s strongest allies, said he did not think the attorneys were doing ‘the most efficient job’, while referring to Maryland Representative Jamie Raskin, who is running as the Democrats ‘chief prosecutor, as’ impressive ‘price. .

Cornyn and Cruz both still voted along with 42 other Republican senators to dismiss the trial. Six Republicans, including Cassidy and Collins, voted with Democrats to advance the trial.

Trump himself was apparently also dissatisfied with the performance of his lawyers. Politico reports that sources close to the former president say he became “increasingly frustrated” as he watched the day. According to other sources, other stores, including CBS and CNN, also reported that the president was disappointed.

On the opening day of the trial, Raskin delivered an emotional speech that recounted his personal experience of the attack on the Capitol, describing how his daughter and son-in-law were in an office in the Capitol and hiding under a desk, to which sent them what they thought. their final texts. Through tears, Raskin said, “This can not be the future of America.”

Castor begins his convoluted presentation by praising senators as “patriots” and mentioning that he is still lost in the Capitol. The speech contains critical lines such as ‘Nebraska, you will hear, is quite a judicial think tank’. He spoke for 20 minutes before addressing the January 6 uprising, not directly addressing the president’s actions that day or protesting against the constitutionality of the indictment.

Castor concluded his opening remarks by bizarrely daring the Department of Justice to arrest Trump if the allegations at the core of the indictment were true.

“A crime is a crime, and a crime is a crime,” Castor said. ‘After he’s out of office, you’re going to arrest him … The Justice Department does know what to do with such people. And so far I have not seen any activity in that direction. ”

Maggie Haberman, The New York Times, said a Trump adviser defended the action as a “deliberate strategy” intended to distract from Raskin’s emotional presentation – although critics have pointed out that a ‘master strategist does not’ need to explain a background statement that explains their strategy. .

It was a performance that stunned many observers, with some reporters comparing the lawyer to a student who did not do the lecture in front of the class, joking that Castor would be fired by tweeting if Trump still had access to his Had Twitter account.