The Senate met again at 2:34 p.m. to hear the final part of the arguments of Mr. Trump’s legal team, presented by attorney Bruce Castor.
Castor began by rejecting the characterization that there had been an uprising even in the US Capitol, saying, “There was clearly no uprising. take over stations and have a plan for what to do. “
He also rebuked Democrats for failing to link the attack to Mr Trump, saying that “the only question that needs to be answered was that Donald Trump was responsible for inciting violence towards this. building? “
The Pennsylvania attorney also reiterated the claim that the managers selectively edited and manipulated the evidence they presented.
“Political hatred has no place in the American legal system and certainly not in the Congress of the United States,” he said.
Castor played video clips of President Joe Biden at rallies and in speeches declaring his government will oppose violence and law and order, along with video of Democrats played throughout the day.
“Make no mistake, and I will repeat it now, and every time I am ever asked, January 6 was a terrible day for our country. The attack on this building shocked us all,” said Castor. “President Trump did not instigate or cause the horrific violence that took place on January 6, 2021. They know that.”
Castor said the evidence that Mr. Trump is not inciting the violence in the Capitol lies in his “admiration” for law enforcement and dislike of rioters and political violence.
“His long-standing hatred for violent protectors and his love for law and order is on display every day on his sleeve serving in the White House,” he said.
Castor called Mr. Trump the most pro-police and anti-Mafia president in history. However, it took three days for the White House to lower the flag for the Capitol Police officer who died from injuries sustained during the January 6 events.
Castor also tried to clean up Mr Trump’s comments during the January 6 morning rally, parts of which were played by the House managers in their presentation. Castor said the former president only warned Republican senators and that members of the House could face primary challengers if they did not object to vote counting and not to incite violence.
“The first way the house managers presented and wanted you to conclude is the criminal way,” he said. “But what the president said was the American way.”
While Castor attempted to demonstrate that the violence in the Capitol was premeditated and not at the insistence of Mr. Trump, he did not notice that the former president repeatedly took to Twitter to invite his supporters to Washington for a rally at 6 January.
“The January 6 speech did not cause riots. The president did not cause riots,” he said. “He neither explicitly nor implicitly encouraged the use of force or lawless action, but in fact called for the peaceful exercise of the First Amendment right for every American to meet peacefully and request their government to redress grievances.”
Castor also admitted another point of ignorance: he is not sure if his own testimony is under oath.
“I don’t know if we’re under oath here,” Castor said during his arguments.
Castor attempted to defend Mr. Trump’s phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, saying there is “nothing inappropriate” about the former president’s speaking to a state’s top election official. During the call, Mr. Trump urged Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes and said, “There’s nothing wrong with saying you know you’ve recalculated it.” The former president lost to Mr Biden by 11,779 votes.
“Let’s be clear. This lawsuit is about much more than just President Trump,” said Castor. “It’s about silencing and banning the speech that the majority disagree with. It’s about canceling 75 million Trump voters and criminalizing political positions. That’s what this trial is really about.”
After less than three hours of the 16 allotted to them in total, Castor rested the case in defense of Mr. Trump.
“This concludes the 45th President of the United States’ formal defense against the impeachment article filed by the House of Representatives,” he said.
The Senate is now on a short break.
Melissa Quinn and Kathryn Watson