Trump lawyers refuse to answer repeated questions on when he knew about Capitol riots
As the Senate prepares to vote on Donald Trump’s impeachment trial today, fresh evidence has emerged of the former president’s support for the insurrectionists who stormed the US Capitol last month.
During a desperate phone call while rioters were hunting down members of Congress, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy attempted to convince Mr Trump to call them off, CNN reported.
GOP lawmakers briefed on the call said Mr Trump refused to do so and told Mr McCarthy: “Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are.”
The revelations come on a day in which a large enough number of Senate Republicans are expected to ignore the overwhelming evidence of Mr Trump’s role in the insurrection and successfully vote to acquit him instead.
Josh Hawley eviscerated by home state’s largest newspaper
The editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the state’s largest newspaper, blasted Senators Hawley and Roy Blunt for “blindly supporting” the former president.
The authors said Mr Hawley and Mr Blunt were “refusing to see Trump’s guilt”.
Graig Graziosi13 February 2021 10:05
Rubio asks impeachment prosecutors if Hillary Clinton will be impeached
Marco Rubio in fact went further than simply tweeting about his claimed concerns that voting to convict Donald Trump would set a “destructive” precedent of impeaching ex-officials, including Hillary Clinton.
The Senator from Florida put the question to prosecutors on Friday, as can be seen here.
Jamie Raskin, the lead impeachment manager, pointed out that Mr Trump was impeached while still president, and that the actions that led to the impeachment were also committed while he was president.
Tom Embury-Dennis13 February 2021 09:46
Trump lawyers refuse to answer repeated questions on when he knew about Capitol riots
Donald Trump’s lawyers repeatedly refused to say when the former president knew about violence that erupted during the 6 January attack on the US Capitol during questioning on Friday in the Senate.
As his attorneys wrapped up their defence of the ex-president against an article of impeachment that now looks as though it could be decided as early as Saturday, they were asked more than once when he learned of the nature of the violence, and the physical threat to his vice president and members of both houses of Congress.
In questions asked of Mr Trump’s lawyers after they had completed their presentation, Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski asked “exactly when did president Trump learn of the breach of the Capitol, and what specific actions did he take to bring the rioting to an end?”
Griffin Connolly and Andrew Buncombe13 February 2021 09:25
Rubio falsely claims Senate will ‘set destructive precedent’ if it votes to convict Trump
In a tweet littered with grammatical and spelling errors, Republican senator Marco Rubio has falsely claimed voting to convict Donald Trump would set a “destructive” precedent over impeachment.
“If the Senate sets a precedent that a former official can be convicted & disqualified it will be just a matter of time before a future House,under partisan pressure to “Lock Her Up”,will impeach & the Senate forced to try other former officials,” Mr Rubio tweeted. “A destructive slipper (sic) slope”
The suggestion Hillary Clinton and other former officials could be impeached ignores the fact Mr Trump was in fact still president when he was impeached, but Republican leadership forced the trial to occur after their leader had left office.
“It’s both sad and entertaining watching you trying to rationalize acquitting a domestic terrorist,” tweeted Asha Rangappa, a former FBI special agent, of Mr Rubio.
Tom Embury-Dennis13 February 2021 09:04
McCarthy snapped at Trump when he refused to help during riot: ‘Who the f*** do you think you’re talking to?’
Kevin McCarthy snapped at Donald Trump when he refused to call off his rioting supporters and reportedly told the president: “Who the f*** do you think you’re talking to?”
The ex-president and the leader of the House Republicans became embroiled in a heated exchange as Mr McCarthy called and begged Mr Trump to intervene, according to CNN.
When Mr Trump told the lawmaker that the rioters were actually antifa, Mr McCarthy bluntly told him that they were in fact a MAGA mob.
Tom Embury-Dennis13 February 2021 08:45
Good morning and welcome to The Independent’s up-to-the-minute coverage of all the latest as Donald Trump’s swift impeachment trial is expected to come to a conclusion today – in what will be a likely vote to acquit the former president by Senate Republicans despite the overwhelming weight of evidence against him.
Tom Embury-Dennis13 February 2021 08:37
