Former President Donald Trump's second impeachment trial began Tuesday with a debate over the constitutionality of the trial and his impeachment in the first place. And in their attempt to dismiss the trial entirely, Trump's lawyers claimed the whole process was moving along both too quickly and too slowly.
Trump lawyer David Schoen followed Bruce Castor's wide-ranging argument on Tuesday, at one point arguing that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) "streamlined the impeachment process" to let it go "straight to the floor for a vote without the ability for amendments." There were "no committee hearings, no witnesses, no cross-examination of evidence, and no opportunity for the accused to respond or even have counsel present to object," he said.
But within seconds, Schoen changed his tune. The House's argument that a speedy impeachment was necessary "was belied by what happened next," Schoen said. "The House unilaterally and by choice waited another twelve days" to send its impeachment article to the Senate, he continued, and "that intentional delay [was] designed to avoid having the trial begin while Mr. Trump was still president."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Beyond his contradiction, Schoen also mischaracterized just how the Senate trial was set up. Then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was the only one able to bring the Senate back from recess in late January for an emergency session to consider Trump's impeachment before he left office. But McConnell refused to do so to give Trump more time to organize his defense — the exact "due process" Schoen argued Democrats stripped the former president of. Likewise, the House impeachment managers specifically requested Trump testify at his trial, but he turned them down.
-
How will the new Repayment Assistance Plan for student loans work?the explainer The Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) will replace existing income-driven repayment plans
-
In the Spotlight Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been at odds with US forces
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black KeysFeature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
ABC News to pay $15M in Trump defamation suitSpeed Read The lawsuit stemmed from George Stephanopoulos' on-air assertion that Trump was found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll
-
Judge blocks Louisiana 10 Commandments lawSpeed Read U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled that a law ordering schools to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms was unconstitutional
-
ATF finalizes rule to close 'gun show loophole'Speed Read Biden moves to expand background checks for gun buyers
-
Hong Kong passes tough new security lawSpeed Read It will allow the government to further suppress all forms of dissent
-
France enshrines abortion rights in constitutionspeed read It became the first country to make abortion a constitutional right
-
Texas executes man despite contested evidenceSpeed Read Texas rejected calls for a rehearing of Ivan Cantu's case amid recanted testimony and allegations of suppressed exculpatory evidence
-
Supreme Court wary of state social media regulationsSpeed Read A majority of justices appeared skeptical that Texas and Florida were lawfully protecting the free speech rights of users
-
Greece legalizes same-sex marriageSpeed Read Greece becomes the first Orthodox Christian country to enshrine marriage equality in law
