The defence’s argument in the second impeachment trial against former US President Donald Trump is becoming very succinct, one of Trump’s lawyers announced Thursday.
According to David Schoen, the defence will only need four hours, much less than the sixteen hours that the defence can use.
Trump’s lawyers will take the floor on Friday after Democratic prosecutors have had the past two days to convince the Senate of Trump’s guilt. The former president is accused of summoning his supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6. There the election results were then determined by parliament.
During the requisitoir, Democratic prosecutors showed video footage from the Capitol during the storming. It shows senators, members of the House of Representatives and then Vice President Mike Pence narrowly escaped to safety as Trump supporters scoured the corridors and offices looking for MPs and Pence, who chaired the Parliament session.
Attorney Schoen accuses the Democrats of showing the video for the “entertainment value”. He argues that the proceedings against former president Trump are political settlements.
After Democrats finalized their charges on Thursday, the defence decided to simplify its argument, an insider said. “I think things are going much faster now,” said Schoen. “I think it could be over on Saturday.”
Democratic prosecutors called on the 100 senators on Thursday to find former President Trump guilty. Whether the fifty Republican senators will respond to that call is very much the question. If all Democrats vote in favour, it will take 17 more votes from Trump’s own party to get the conviction’s 67 votes.
Because of his popularity among right-wing voters, Trump is still considered a significant factor within the Republican party. A vote on Tuesday found that only 56 senators believe the second impeachment lawsuit against Trump is constitutional.