Former President Donald Trump was frustrated while watching his defense team at work on day one of his second impeachment trial, according to a report in Politico. “Trump was not happy with the performance of his legal team in action,” said someone familiar with Trump’s sentiments.
The impeachment trial kicked off on Tuesday, February 9 with Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md) showing graphic footage of the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Trump is charged with inciting his followers to riot at the Capitol in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Six people were left dead, including a U.S. Capitol Police Officer. Raskin became emotional as he described the events that unfolded that day. He emphasized that Trump’s actions recklessly threatened the lives of everyone in the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team debated whether or not the impeachment trial was constitutional, in spite of the fact that the former president is no longer in office. The Senate deemed the trial constitutional in a 56-44 vote, therefore allowing the trial to proceed. Six republicans joined all democratic senators in voting to move forward, surpassing the five votes needed to continue the trial.
At some point during the trial, Trump’s legal team quickly became the focus, with senators on both sides of the aisle criticizing his attorneys for failing to deliver a strong argument as to why Trump shouldn’t be impeached. Trump’s team was assembled a little over a week ago, after it was announced that several members of his original legal team would no longer represent him due to many issues, including disputes over legal fees.
“Anyone who listened to President Trump’s legal team saw they were unfocused, they attempted to avoid the issue,” said Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La). “They talked about everything but the issue at hand.”
Today, House managers will present their case against Trump beginning at noon ET.