Trump impeachment (2021)

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      Donald Trump scrambling to assemble impeachment defense before deadline

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      With mere hours left before a deadline for Donald Trump to officially answer the impeachment charge against him, the former president was still scrambling to assemble a legal defense, announcing that he had hired two new lawyers after a five-person team abruptly quit their roles.
      Trump has until noon on Tuesday to reply to a charge of incitement of insurrection, for encouraging the assault on the US Capitol on 6 January in which five people died. His trial in the Senate is scheduled to begin on 9 February.
      With most Republicans signaling support for the former president, the trial is seen as having little chance of ending in conviction, which would open the way for the Senate to bar Trump, 74, from ever holding office again.
      But the trial is still seen as a potentially explosive disruption in Washington, where the Biden administration is laboring mightily to get its agenda off the ground and some Republican leaders have been attempting to creep away from Trump.
      The unveiling of Trump’s new legal pairing – one a Fox News commentator and former counsel to the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the other a former county prosecutor who opposed charging Bill Cosby with sexual assault – fueled concerns the provisional return to normalcy since Joe Biden’s inauguration was about to be upended.
      The trial could be particularly dangerous, legal scholars said, if Trump built his case around his lie that the November election was stolen and Senate Republicans effectively endorsed that lie, in unprecedented numbers, by voting to acquit.
      Multiple reports suggested Trump jettisoned his previous legal team because they were unwilling to recite the election fraud lie. Trump’s new lawyers, David Schoen and Bruce Castor, did not indicate what defense they had planned.
      “Both Schoen and Castor agree that this impeachment is unconstitutional,” a statement said, adding that Schoen considered it “an honor” to represent Trump.
      Castor said: “The strength of our constitution is about to be tested like never before in our history.”
      Schoen is an eager media presence whose past clients include Roger Stone, convicted for lying to Congress in the Russia investigation but pardoned by Trump. The attorney also told the Discovery channel Epstein had asked him to take over the defense of his case before the convicted sex trafficker killed himself in prison in August 2019.
      “I don’t believe he took his own life,” Schoen said, demonstrating an ease with the conspiratorial thinking that has fed Trump’s election lies and taken over the Republican base.
      In a separate interview with the Atlanta Jewish Times, Schoen said: “I still think [Epstein] was murdered.”
      Castor was the Republican district attorney for Montgomery county, a Philadelphia suburb. But he lost a re-election effort in 2015 when his decision not to charge Cosby, who was later convicted of aggravated indecent assault, became a campaign issue.
      Neither Schoen nor Castor has any expertise in constitutional law, which mainstream scholars see as the most promising path for Trump’s defense. A minority have argued that the constitution does not allow for a trial of a political figure who has left office. Most constitutional scholars disagree sharply, invoking non-presidential precedent.
      “The House’s impeachment of Trump – like an indictment – occurred before he was out of office, and therefore requires a trial,” tweeted Daniel Goldman, who led the cross-examination of witnesses before the House judiciary committee during Trump’s first impeachment.
      Trump has disagreed with that prevailing reading of the constitution.
      “The Democrats’ efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country,” his adviser Jason Miller said.
      Other analysts have observed that the nature and strength of Trump’s defense does not matter if Republicans are planning, as they appear to be, to acquit him anyway.
      “The ‘crisis’ over Trump’s legal team quitting assumes that the substance of the impeachment case will sway Senate Republicans,” the Princeton University historian Julian Zelizer tweeted. “Most already have their answer. Trump could offer no defense or he can go on the floor to read lines from the Joker movie – they would still vote to acquit.”
      Amid reports that Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon was pushing the ex-president to defend himself, a former Trump White House aide said it seemed Bannon, whom Trump pardoned after he was charged with fraud, had at least partially won out over advice offered by Senator Lindsey Graham.
      “Show them the Stop the Steal receipts instead of the weenie it’s unconstitutional track,” the former aide said of likely Trump trial tactics, in a message seen by the Guardian. “Gotta love Trump.”
      Trump is the only president to be impeached twice. He was first tried in December 2019, on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, regarding approaches to Ukraine for dirt on rivals including Biden. The Senate acquitted him with only one Republican, Mitt Romney, voting to convict.
      Trump was able to assemble a relatively strong legal team, including the White House counsel Pat Cipollone, the former Bill Clinton prosecutor Ken Starr, the constitutional scholar Alan Dershowitz and the deputy counsel Patrick Philbin. Trump also won support from the conservative constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley. But when Trump sought his involvement this time around, the Washington Post reported, Turley declined.
      The Ohio Republican senator Rob Portman told CNN on Sunday any argument Trump made about supposed election fraud “will not benefit him” because “Joe Biden was duly elected” and that is “the view of the Trump Department of Justice” too.
      Any lawyer who repeats Trump’s fraud claim before Congress would risk legal sanction, analysts said, noting that in the midst of Trump’s attempts to get ballots thrown out, not even the former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani would make certain claims about election fraud before an actual judge.
      Giuliani is eager to defend Trump in his new impeachment trial, the New York Times reported – but key Trump advisers are against it. More

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      One of Trump’s attorneys believes Epstein was murdered, the other didn't prosecute Cosby

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      One of two attorneys named to defend Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial represented Roger Stone, believes Jeffrey Epstein did not kill himself and numbers among his clients “all sorts of reputed mobster figures”, including “a guy the government claimed was the biggest mafioso in the world”.The other declined to prosecute Bill Cosby.Trump’s trial starts next week. He is due to respond to the charge on Tuesday. At the weekend his first team of lawyers quit, reportedly because he insisted his defence against a charge of inciting the deadly US Capitol attack on 6 January should be based on the lie that his defeat by Joe Biden was the result of electoral fraud.Given that 45 of 50 Republican senators voted against even holding a trial, Trump seems likely to escape conviction. But the Ohio senator Rob Portman told CNN on Sunday it would not help Trump “if the argument is not going to be made on issues like constitutionality”.The same day, Trump announced the appointment of Bruce Castor, from Pennsylvania, and David Schoen, of Georgia.Castor is a former district attorney known for his decision not to prosecute Cosby in 2005 after Andrea Constand accused the comedian of sexual assault. In 2017, Castor sued Constand for defamation, claiming she destroyed his political career. Cosby was convicted and sentenced the following year.Last September, Schoen told the Atlanta Jewish Times: “I represented all sorts of reputed mobster figures: alleged head of Russian mafia in this country, Israeli mafia and two Italian bosses, as well a guy the government claimed was the biggest mafioso in the world.”He also discussed his work on police misconduct, but opposition to the movement to “defund the police”, and the Stone case. The confessed political dirty trickster was convicted of lying to Congress in the Russia investigation but Trump pardoned him in December. Schoen called Stone “very bright, full of personality and flair” and the case against him “very unfair and politicised”.Schoen said he trained as an actor, “at the Actors Studio and Herbert Berghof Studio”, which he said helped when he appeared in a Discovery Channel documentary about Epstein, a well-connected convicted sex trafficker who killed himself in custody in New York in 2019.Schoen said promotional work included interviews with “Fox, Good Day New York, and [the] Daily Mail” but said he had “had enough. Takes too much time away from legal work. Three different agents have called.”Asked for a “last word on Jeffrey Epstein”, Schoen said: “I still think he was murdered.” More

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      Donald Trump's impeachment defence in disarray as lead lawyers quit – reports

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      Donald Trump has abruptly parted ways with the two lead lawyers working on his defence for his Senate impeachment trial, a source familiar with the situation said, leaving the former US president’s legal strategy in disarray.Butch Bowers and Deborah Barberi, two South Carolina lawyers, are no longer on Trump’s team, the source said, describing the move as a “mutual decision”.Three other lawyers associated with the team, Josh Howard of North Carolina and Johnny Gasser and Greg Harris of South Carolina, also parted ways with Trump, another source said.A third source said Trump had differences with Bowers over strategy ahead of the trial. The president is still contending that he was the victim of mass election fraud in the 3 November election won by Joe Biden.It leaves Trump’s defence team in turmoil as he prepares for a trial starting on 9 February to consider an article of impeachment passed by the House of Representatives charging him with inciting his supporters to storm the US Capitol on 6 January.It was unclear who would now represent the former president at the trial. His White House lawyers at his first impeachment trial last year, Pat Cipollone and Patrick Philbin, are not expected to be a part of the proceedings.“The Democrats’ efforts to impeach a president who has already left office is totally unconstitutional and so bad for our country,” said Jason Miller, a Trump adviser.“In fact, 45 senators have already voted that it is unconstitutional. We have done much work, but have not made a final decision on our legal team, which will be made shortly,” Miller said.Forty-five Senate Republicans backed a failed effort last Tuesday to halt Trump’s impeachment trial, in a show of party unity that some cited as a clear sign he will not be convicted of inciting insurrection at the Capitol. More

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      Boost for Trump as 45 Republican senators vote to dismiss impeachment

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      Donald Trump’s hopes of avoiding conviction by the US Senate received a boost on Tuesday when 45 Republicans tried to dismiss his impeachment trial before it even began.
      The procedural vote was not enough to prevent the trial going ahead, since 55 senators voted that it should, but it did suggest that Democrats face an uphill battle to get the 67 senators they will need for a conviction on a two-thirds majority vote.
      Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on the charge of “incitement of insurrection” following the storming of the US Capitol, including the Senate chamber, by an angry mob on 6 January. Senators gathered at the scene of the crime on Tuesday to begin his trial.
      After they were sworn in and signed the oath book – each using a different pen due to coronavirus precautions – Rand Paul of Kentucky challenged the legitimacy of the trial.
      He argued on a point of order that, since Trump is no longer president, pressing ahead with it “violates the constitution”.
      Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, dismissed Paul’s theory as “flat-out wrong”, contending: “It’s been completely debunked by constitutional scholars from all across the political spectrum … The history and precedent is clear. The Senate has the power to try former officials.”
      Schumer said: “The theory that the Senate can’t try former officials would amount to a constitutional get-out-of-jail-free card for any president who commits an impeachable offence.”
      Senators then voted 55-45 against Paul’s point of order, ensuring the trial will proceed – but also signalling the strength of Trump’s residual support among Republicans in the Senate and beyond.
      The only five Republicans who voted to go ahead with the trial were the longtime Trump critics Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. Romney was the sole Republican to vote for Trump’s removal from office at his first impeachment trial a year ago.
      Trump is the first president to have been twice impeached by the House of Representatives and the first to face a trial after leaving power.
      The House approved a single article of impeachment – the equivalent of an indictment in a criminal trial – on 13 January, accusing him of inciting an insurrection with a speech to supporters before they stormed the US Capitol on 6 January. A police officer and four other people died in the riot.
      The nine House Democrats who will serve as prosecutors set the trial in motion on Monday by delivering the article of impeachment to the Senate in a solemn march along the same halls where the mob rampaged three weeks ago.
      The supreme court chief justice, John Roberts, is not presiding at the trial, as he did during Trump’s first impeachment, because the president is no longer in office. Instead, Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat who serves in the largely ceremonial role of Senate president pro tempore, oversaw proceedings.
      The trial will begin in earnest in the week of 8 February. Despite his departure, Trump remains a significant force among Republicans and his supporters have vowed to mount election challenges to senators who support conviction.
      Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, tweeted: “45 GOP Senators just voted that Trump’s trial is unconstitutional since he isn’t in office now. Those who thought 17 R Senators would somehow vote to convict Trump have presumably awakened from their dream. As guilty as Trump is, Rs still cower before him.”
      Joe Biden told CNN that the trial “has to happen” but doubted the chances of conviction. More

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      Joe Biden on Donald Trump's impeachment trial: 'It has to happen'

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      The impeachment trial of Donald Trump “has to happen”, Joe Biden told CNN on Monday.While acknowledging the effect it could have on his agenda, the president said there would be “a worse effect if it didn’t happen”.Biden said he didn’t think enough Republican senators would vote for impeachment to convict, though he also said the outcome might well have been different if Trump had had six months left in his term.“The Senate has changed since I was there, but it hasn’t changed that much,” Biden said.The US House on Monday delivered its article of impeachment against Trump to the Senate, setting the stage for Trump’s second impeachment trial and the first ever Senate trial of a former US president.Trump has been charged with inciting the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, when an assault by a violent pro-Trump mob lead to the deaths of five people.Monday’s delivery and formal reading of the charge marks the opening of the trial, although arguments are set to start the week of 8 February.Republicans and Democrats last week agreed to a two-week delay to the start of the proceedings to allow both sides to prepare arguments and give senators a fortnight to negotiate vital legislation to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus and consider Biden’s cabinet appointments.Following Trump’s impeachment in the House on 13 January, Biden had said he hoped senators would “deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation”.At least 17 Republican senators will have to vote with all the Democrats in order to convict Trump.Although Senate Republicans have been slower to rally to Trump’s defense than during his first impeachment trial, and a handful of Republicans have signaled an openness to convicting the former president, a conviction remains an uphill battle. More

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      in Elections

      Schumer promises quick but fair trial as Trump impeachment heads to Senate

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      Ex-president forms legal team before February hearingsBiden focuses on nominations and legislative prioritiesTrump plots revenge on Republicans who betrayed himThe single article of impeachment against Donald Trump will on Monday evening be delivered to the Senate, where Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer is promising a quick but fair trial. Related: Trump’s second impeachment trial: the key players Continue reading… More

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      Impeachment guide: how will Donald Trump's second Senate trial unfold?

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      Sign up for the Guardian’s First Thing newsletterSpeaker Nancy Pelosi has said that on Monday the House of Representatives will send an article of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate – the first time in history an American president will face a second impeachment trial.Though Trump is no longer in office, the trial is set to go ahead in February. If convicted, Trump could be barred from ever again holding public office, dealing a terminal blow to any hopes he may have of running again in 2024.The charge originates from the former president’s incendiary speech to an angry mob before it assaulted the US Capitol in Washington on 6 January, and will thus unfold in the one of the chambers ransacked by his supporters.Here is what we know so far about the historic proceeding:What happens on Monday?Pelosi will send the article of impeachment – the charge of incitement laid out and approved by the House – to the Senate at 7pm EST. The charge will be carried by Democratic impeachment managers in a small, formal procession through National Statuary Hall, where just weeks ago rioters paraded, waving Trump flags. In the Senate, Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland and the lead impeachment manager, will read the article of impeachment on the floor of the chamber.What happens next?Traditionally the trial would begin almost immediately upon receipt of the impeachment article. But Senate leaders have agreed a two-week delay, allowing time for Joe Biden to install his cabinet and begin pursuing a legislative agenda.Under the deal struck by Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, and Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, the president’s team and the House managers will have until the week of 8 February to to draft and exchange written legal briefs.Trump’s legal team must submit an answer to the article by 2 February, the same day House managers must provide their pre-trial brief. Trump’s pre-trial brief will be due on 8 February and the House will have until 9 February for a rebuttal, allowing for the trial to begin.What is the charge?Trump is accused of “inciting violence against the government of the United States”, for his statements at a rally prior to his supporters launching the attack on the Capitol in which five people died. The House impeached Trump for “high crimes and misdemeanors” on 13 January, exactly one week after the siege. The final vote was 232 to 197, with 10 Republicans joining Democrats.Will witnesses be called?That is not yet known. In Trump’s first impeachment trial, over approaches to Ukraine for dirt on political rivals, the Republican-held Senate refused to call witnesses. Now the Senate is in Democratic hands but many in the party are hoping for a speedy trial so as not to distract from Biden’s first weeks in the White House. Some Democrats have said they do not expect to call witnesses, given that lawmakers bore witness to –and were the victims of – the attack on the Capitol.Who runs the trial?The chief justice of the supreme court, John Roberts, oversaw Trump’s first trial in February 2020. However, the constitution only stipulates that the chief justice must preside over the trial of a current president, leaving scholars divided over who should lead the chamber during the proceedings this time. If Roberts declined to preside, the task would likely fall to the president of the Senate: Vice-President Kamala Harris. In the event she preferred not to become involved with the proceedings, which overlaps with her first weeks in her new job, the job could fall to Patrick Leahy, a Democratic senator from Vermont and the Senate president pro tempore, a position decided by seniority.How long will the trial last?That is also still not known, but it is expected to be much quicker than the last impeachment trial – perhaps a matter of days, not weeks.What are the chances Republicans vote to convict?A two-thirds majority of the Senate is needed to convict Trump. As with his first impeachment trial, many Republicans see that as unlikely. Only Mitt Romney dared break ranks last time and, while more are expected to do so this time, it would take 17 Republicans joining all 50 Democrats to convict. However, McConnell’s public ambivalence over his own vote has led to some speculation that if he were to signal support for conviction, he could provide cover for more defections.If Trump is convicted what happens next?If Trump is convicted, there will be no immediate consequences as he has already left office. However, lawmakers could hold another vote to block him from running again. A simple majority would be needed to block him from holding “any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States”, blocking a White House run in 2024. More