On Tuesday, the Senate convened to hear arguments for whether it has jurisdiction over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump since Trump is no longer in the White House.
Trump faces the Senate trial after he was impeached by the Democratic House of Representatives on January 13, while he was still in office. The House charged Trump with the incitement of an insurrection after his constant lies about the integrity of the 2020 presidential election led a mob of pro-Trump extremists to storm the United States Capitol in a deadly failed insurrection.
The Democratic House impeachment managers argued the Senate can still hold impeachment trials for former Presidents, citing multiple founding documents and frameworks that influenced the founding fathers, while also reminding the Senate of the gravity of Trump's transgressions.
The argument was even more effective after Trump's head lawyer—Bruce Castor—began to deliver his rebuttal.
In a piece from Karen Heller of the Washington Post earlier this week, Castor was quoted saying:
"I'm not Ken Starr or Alan Dershowitz. You're not going to get a law professor's explanation. I'm a guy who gets up in court and talks."
That philosophy was on full display as Castor proceeded to deliver a rambling, near-incoherent argument that the Senate can't hold an impeachment trial for a former President.
Here are some of the standout moments.
Suddenly, Castor's quote in the Washington Post made a lot of sense.
Even former Trump lawyer Alan Dershowitz, whom Castor invoked in the quote, didn't understand what argument Castor was trying to make.
Dershowitz said:
"There is no argument. I have no idea what he's doing. I have no idea why he's saying what he's saying. ... Come on. The American people are entitled to an argument—a constitutional argument."
Dershowitz wasn't the only one befuddled by Castor's attempt at a rebuttal.
The Senate voted that it does, in fact, have the jurisdiction to oversee the trial of former President Donald Trump.
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