Trump impeachment trial begins, Republicans outraged over defense team’s performance

Washington: Several Republicans, including the defendant himself, were disappointed with the legal defense team’s performance on the first day of President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, hours after the high chamber voted to approve the legality of the proceedings.

The Senate by a 56-44 vote earlier in the day declared that the trial was constitutional before proceedings got underway on Tuesday. Six Republicans were among those who approved moving the trial forward.

Democrats and some Republicans seek to use the sole Article of Impeachment – the incitement of insurrection – to disqualify Trump from holding public office, including running for president in 2024.

The Article of Impeachment alleges that in the months preceding the January 6 incident at the US Capitol, Trump repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people.

“President Trump’s team was disorganized, they did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand and when they talked about it, they kind of glided over it, almost as if they were embarrassed of their arguments” Senator Bill Cassidy said on Tuesday.

Cassidy was one of six Republican Senators who sided with Democrats on Tuesday in a vote to declare the Trump impeachment trial constitutional with a 56-44 vote. He had previously voted two weeks ago to dismiss the impeachment trial that failed with a 55-45 vote

Cassidy said the House prosecutors were focused, organized, and made a compelling argument.

“If’ I’m an impartial juror, and one side is doing a great job, and the other side is doing a terrible job, on the issue at hand, an impartial juror, I’m going to vote for the side that did the good job,” Cassidy said.

Republican Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, who voted to declare the impeachment trial unconstitutional, also criticized Trump’s legal defense team.

Cornyn told reporters he has seen many arguments and that was not one of the “finest” he has seen. Cruz said Trump’s legal defense team did not do “the most effective job.”

CNN reported that Trump himself was enraged by his defense team’s opening argument.

Trump attorney Bruce Castor told reporters he thought the legal defense team “had a good day,” adding that they would not make any adjustments regardless of the criticism received from senators. Defense attorney David Schoen said he thought his partner Castor “did a great job.”

Castor and Schoen barely joined Trump’s legal team earlier this month after five of his impeachment lawyers, including Butch Bowers and Deborah Barbier, had left the legal team.

At least 17 Republican Senators need to side with Democrats to have the required two-third majority to convict Trump.

Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon said the Republican approach is not winning the image battle in commenting on the legal team that was assembled reportedly by Senator Lindsay Graham.

“The strategy is not working… this is asymmetric information warfare: Democrats argue a coherent made-for-TV fantasy that works on an emotional level. [Senator] Lindsey Graham’s team argues the constitution and nobody cares. Changes needed and needed now,” Bannon told AP.