Trump Impeachment Prosecutors Will Use New Evidence

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Senior aides have confirmed that the prosecutors in former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will use new evidence against him. The aides say it is possible Republican senators who have otherwise expressed hesitation over convicting Trump for inciting an insurrection against Congress would be likely to convict based on this new evidence.

“Once they see that this President did in fact incite a violent insurrection in order to hold onto power, I think it very well may be the case that reluctant senators change their mind and vote to convict,” aides told reporters ahead of the trial, though they did not elaborate further.

In a brief submitted to the Senate yesterday, Trump’s legal team argues that he did not “direct anyone to commit unlawful actions,” adding that he should not take the blame for the actions of a “small group of criminals.” They say the former president’s falsehoods about the election are protected under the First Amendment.

The lawyers, Bruce L. Castor Jr., David I. Schoen and Michael T. van der Veen, make clear they view the trial as little more than a partisan exercise.

“This impeachment proceeding was never about seeking justice,” they wrote. “Instead, this was only ever a selfish attempt by Democratic leadership in the House to prey upon the feelings of horror and confusion that fell upon all Americans across the entire political spectrum upon seeing the destruction at the Capitol on Jan. 6 by a few hundred people.”

You can read the impeachment defense memo HERE.

The trial is likely to be resolved speedily. Under a deal negotiated by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), “there still exists the possibility that senators could vote after four days of arguments to extend the trial by calling witnesses and examining testimony that could shed additional light on Trump’s actions and motivations surrounding the events of Jan. 6,” according to a Washington Post report.

It’s likely the Senate trial could be resolved within a week.

“The merits of the case against the former president will be presented, and the former president’s counsel will mount a defense,” Schumer said. “Ultimately, senators will decide on the one true question at stake in this trial: Is Donald Trump guilty of inciting a violent mob against the United States, a mob whose purpose was to interfere with the constitutional process of counting electoral votes and ensuring a peaceful transfer of power?”