The defense of Donald Trump took the floor this Friday in the trial of the former president and argued that the Republican's fiery words on the day of the assault on the Capitol do not constitute a literal call to violence, but are part of the "usual political rhetoric."
Trump, accused of inciting insurrection, urged his followers to "fight like hell" in order to "take back" the United States and to march towards Congress to protest against the confirmation of Joe Biden's electoral victory, which was taking place. that January 6th.
It was the culmination of months waving the hoax of electoral fraud and calling on the authorities to boycott the transition of power.
This judgment goes beyond the figurative or literal sense of a word.
The managers of the
impeachment
, the congressmen who exercise the prosecution, had defended for two days that Trump's speech was not exceptional or figurative, but responds to a pattern of years of nods to violence.
In addition, they exposed the videos in which the assailants themselves claim to follow the orders of their president, the same argument that many of the arrested protesters have used in court.
Democrats also insisted on the Republican's conniving attitude during the attack.
Although he asked them to go home, he conveyed his love and justified their actions.
The former president's lawyers fought back on the fourth day of the Senate trial.
Michael van der Veen, who opened the session, called the process a "witch hunt with political intentions" and gave way to his own battery of videos.
These included several statements by Trump in favor of "law and order" and the security forces, corresponding to the wave of riots and protests against racism last summer, as well as multiple speeches by prominent Democrats, from Elizabeth Warren to Nancy Pelosi, through Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, using the expression "fight."
His aim was to emphasize that these harangues are part of the common political discourse.
Biden's election slogan, Van der Veen recalled, was "fight for the soul of America."
The
buts
of strategy have to do with both substance and context.
This judgment does not revolve around the uses of language.
Trump had spent months whipping up the hoax of electoral fraud and calling on the authorities to break the law.
He first asked that the counting of the votes by mail be stopped, knowing that he was the loser.
When he also lost the battle in court, he called on congressmen and senators not to certify Biden's victory.
That same morning, when Congress was supposed to proceed with this process, he asked that the then Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, fail to fulfill his constitutional duty and not declare the Democrat president-elect.
Republican Gabriel Sterling, responsible for monitoring the election in Georgia, warned of the lethal danger of the president's inflammatory speech, which was calling into question the legitimacy of the polls and instigating civil mobilization.
“Mr. President, you have the right to go to court,” he noted on December 1, “but you must stop inspiring people to commit violent acts.
Someone is going to end up injured, shot, someone is going to die and it is not well ”.
The lawyers have dodged the hoax of electoral fraud and have condemned the violence of January 6 to focus their argument exclusively on the fact that Trump did not incite it.
They planned to complete their argumentation this same day, using only three or four hours of the 16 to which they are entitled, according to the terms of the process.
Without witness testimony in sight, this will be the
shortest
impeachment
proceeding in
history.
The brevity suits both the Democrats, who want to advance the legislative agenda of the new Biden Administration, and the Republicans, for whom the end of the Trump era is being a pure tear.
Not only the former president is on trial, but also his own party, very divided this time, unlike the impeachment trial a year ago, around the figure of Trump.
After the assault, more than a dozen positions in the Administration and the White House decided to resign in protest.
And up to 10 Republican congressmen voted in favor of trying him in the House of Representatives, where the first phase of the process takes place.
Others, like Sen. Mitch McConnell, have divorced him and even condemned his behavior, but have given no indications to vote to convict him, pushing away the possibility of a guilty verdict for which 17 Republican senators should vote in favor.
On Thursday afternoon, three of Trump's most loyalists - Mike Lee, Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz - met with attorneys for several hours.
The last sounded abandonment was made public this Friday. In an interview with
Politico
, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley stated: “We must admit that he has disappointed us, we should not have followed him, and we should not have listened to him. And we cannot allow it to happen again ”. The
impeachment
seems, still "a waste of time". Haley is one of the possible Republican candidates for the White House in 2024. Her position summarizes the aspiration of much of the party to turn the page as soon as possible.