Source: Sarah Silbiger / Getty
Former President Trump’s lawyers took the Senate floor to argue the constitutionality of the second impeachment trial against the former President on Tuesday.
The two lawyers, who took the case after the original five resigned, cited the terms of impeachment and defending Trump’s status as a private citizen.
Bruce L. Castor Jr. wondered why lawmakers are trying Trump and without the Department of Justice stepping in to arrest him for the actions of January 6. “So far, I haven’t seen any activity” about the DOJ charging Trump, Castor noted to the Senators. “After he’s out of office, you go and arrest him.”
He went on to say the American people made the decision to move on from Trump.
“The people are smart enough, in the light most favorable to them, they’re smart enough to pick a new administration if they don’t like the old one. And they just did.”
David Schoen, a seasoned civil and criminal lawyer, took the argument further by insinuating there could be another civil war if Trump is convicted.
“This trial will tear this country apart, perhaps like we have only seen once before in our history,” Schoen said.
The lawyers, both of whom have strange backgrounds, are tasked with devising a defense strategy for a former President that faces a tarnished reputation for inciting a deadly insurrection at the US Capitol.
Schoen, who holds a masters degree in law from Columbia University and a doctorate from Boston College, according to his biography, serves as chair of the American Bar Association’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee of the Civil Rights Litigation Committee.
Castor, on the other hand, served as a district attorney from 2000 to 2008, before serving two terms as the county commissioner, according to a release from Trump’s office.
Day two of Trump’s impeachment trial will shift the focus to formal arguments Wednesday, along with evidence of the deadly attacks. Impeachment managers will show never-before-seen footage from Jan. 6, “shedding light on the rioters’ extreme violence from a new vantage point,” according to sources with direct knowledge.
