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Impeachment proceedings in the US Senate on Friday: "Get real"
Photo: AP
In the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, the ex-president's defense lawyers have resolutely rejected the prosecutor's allegations.
It is an unjust, unconstitutional and politically motivated process, said attorney Michael van der Veen in the US Senate.
Trump did not call for violence in his speech immediately before the storming of the Capitol on January 6.
The Democrats' claims that the then president incited the demonstrators were "absurd and monstrous lies."
It is “clear” that the Democrats “hate” Trump, said van der Veen.
Trump's lawyers would have had two days to respond to the arguments of the House prosecutors.
However, they finished their lecture after three hours.
The senators then had four hours to answer questions on Friday night (CET).
The final vote on impeachment could take place as early as the weekend.
Lawyer does not want to confirm Trump's election defeat
When asked by Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders whether the defense attorneys believed that Trump won the election, van der Veen said, "My assessment is irrelevant in this process." Then he added, "I believe it is irrelevant for the question this institution deals with. ”Trump did not admit his defeat in the November 3rd election to this day.
The only relevant question is whether Trump's statements were so inciting that they led to violence and riots, said van der Veen.
The answer is no, Trump has campaigned for peaceful protests and, as president, has always campaigned for "law and order".
The criticized statements in his speech were "ordinary political statements" covered by the right to freedom of expression.
The attempt to selectively restrict freedom of expression is illegal.
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The Democratic chief prosecutor in the House of Representatives, Jamie Raskin, was stunned by the statements of the lawyers.
"Get real," said Raskin, which in German means something like: "Wake up" or "Get back to the bottom of the facts."
Trump had incited his supporters at a rally on January 6th that the election victory had been stolen from him.
Among other things, he said: "If you don't fight like the devil, you will have no more land."
In order to defend Trump's alleged call to fight, the lawyers showed dozens of videos from the past few years in which prominent Democrats called for a "fight" against Trump and called for his impeachment.
"Fight hard for change," said Senator Elizabeth Warren in one video, "I'm not afraid of a fight" in another.
Lawyers compare statements made by Madonna
The lawyers did not stop at the pop icon Madonna either.
They showed two older videos from the music superstar in which she talks about blowing up the White House.
"Any political utterance should be protected, equally for all of us," said van der Veen.
Madonna had campaigned for Trump's opponent Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Raskins said, “How gullible do you think we are?
We saw it happen. "
Another defense attorney for Trump, David Schoen, accused the House of Representatives of relying on unconfirmed media reports and manipulated evidence to harm the ex-president.
In their presentations, the prosecutors also relied on Trump quotes that were deliberately taken out of context, said Schoen.
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Trump's lawyer van der Veen
Photo: Jabin Botsford / POOL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Van der Veen again emphasized that the process was unconstitutional because Trump had already left office.
The Democrats are only concerned with "trying to disqualify their political opponents."
The majority of the Senate decided on Tuesday that the procedure initiated during Trump's term of office was constitutional.
Van der Veen accused the Democrats of being driven only by "hatred" of Trump.
"This kind of political hatred has no place in our political institutions," he said.
Trump is accused of “inciting a riot”
The Democrats accuse Trump of “inciting a riot” in the impeachment process and have initiated impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.
The impeachment process is managed and decided in the Senate.
The Congress Chamber takes on the role of a court.
The prosecutors set out their allegations against Trump on Wednesday and Thursday using dramatic video recordings and a meticulous retelling of the attack on the Capitol.
They accuse Trump of having prepared the ground for the attack with his election fraud allegations for months and ultimately having deliberately instigated and orchestrated the outbreak of violence.
The prosecutors also accused Trump of showing no remorse and of later calling his statements at the rally "perfectly appropriate."
To be convicted, 17 Republicans would have to join the 50 Democrats in the Senate.
Only six Republican senators voted with the Democrats in the vote on constitutionality.
So far it looks like an acquittal for the Republican Trump.
The Democrats want to lock Trump with a condemnation for future political offices at the federal level.
They argue that Trump needs to be held accountable by the Senate so that he cannot call for violence again in the future.
The threat from fanatical Trump supporters persists, they warned
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hba / dpa / AP