Trump impeachment lawyer dodges question about whether Trump lost the election

One of former President Donald Trump's defense lawyers dodged a question about the winner of the 2020 presidential election, saying his own judgement on the matter is "irrelevant."
After Trump's team concluded their arguments in his impeachment trial on Friday, senators had the opportunity to ask questions of both sides. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked whether prosecutors are "right when they claim that Trump was telling a big lie" when he repeatedly falsely claimed he won the 2020 election, "or, in your judgement, did Trump actually win the election?" Trump defense attorney Michael van der Veen declined to answer either way.
"In my judgement, it's irrelevant to the question before this body," Van der Veen responded. "What's relevant in this impeachment article is, were Mr. Trump's words inciteful to the point of violence and riot? That's the charge, that's the question. And the answer is no."
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.
Trump is facing charges of inciting a riot at the Capitol building on Jan. 6 — his supporters who breached the building backed his false claims that widespread voter fraud affected the outcome of the election and that he won in a landslide.
Earlier in the question-and-answer session, Trump's defense team was also asked for details regarding when Trump learned about the breach at the Capitol building, as well as what "specific actions" he took "to bring the rioting to an end." Van der Veen referenced a tweet from Trump before complaining that there's been "absolutely no investigation" into this. Brendan Morrow
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
The Week Unwrapped: Why do young people love ASMR?
Podcast Plus can US football stamp out homophobia? And why is Scottish Gallic getting a TV boost?
By The Week UK Published
-
Quiz of The Week: 1 - 7 March
Have you been paying attention to The Week's news?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Superboys of Malegaon: 'uplifting' Indian love letter to scrappy filmmaking
The Week Recommends 'Feelgood' comedy about a group of friends who make their own versions of Bollywood hits
By The Week UK Published
-
Why Serbian protesters set off smoke bombs in parliament
THE EXPLAINER Ongoing anti-corruption protests erupted into full view this week as Serbian protesters threw the country's legislature into chaos
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Arab leaders embrace Egypt's Gaza rebuilding plan
Speed Read The $53 billion proposal would rebuild Gaza without displacing Palestinian residents
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Germany's conservatives win power amid far-right gains
Speed Read The party led by Friedrich Merz won the country's national election; the primary voter issues were the economy and immigration
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia frees US teacher Marc Fogel in murky 'exchange'
Speed Read He was detained in Moscow for carrying medically prescribed marijuana
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Hamas pauses Gaza hostage release, upending ceasefire
Speed Read Hamas postponed the next scheduled hostage release 'until further notice,' accusing Israel of breaking the terms of their ceasefire deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Baltic States unplug from Russian grid, join EU's
Speed Read Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are disconnecting from the Soviet-era electricity grid to join the EU's network
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
At least 11 killed in Sweden adult ed school shooting
Speed Read The worst mass shooting in Swedish history took place in Orebro
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Who is the Hat Man? 'Shadow people' and sleep paralysis
In Depth 'Sleep demons' have plagued our dreams throughout the centuries, but the explanation could be medical
By The Week Staff Published