Former President Trump has parted ways with his lead impeachment lawyers little more than a week before his trial.
azdailysun.com
When I first saw this I thought Trump was making a mistake with his legal strategy. Apparently he is going to argue that the impeachment is unconstitutional because he is no longer in office. This is risky because it could be interpreted to mean he is guilty but the trial is not legal. He is not guilty of incitement by the legal definition and it is not even close. Trump's words where he said, "peacefully and patriotically have your voices heard" remove any doubt he wanted or intended to incite violence of any kind. No matter what the protestors were shouting or claiming, Trump's words are all that matter. The definition of incitement if very clear, "An inciter is one who counsels, commands or advises the commission of a crime." No matter how many times Trump said the election was stolen, there is no incitement in that alone. Democrats have latched onto the word "fight" because Trump said we have to fight for this election. But that is a very weak argument. High School cheerleaders shout "fight, fight, fight" all the time and no one would argue it is inciting a fight. It is a figure of speech that is often used to mean nonviolent work towards a goal or completion of a mission.
The Democrats are arguing the Jan 6 riot was an insurrection. This is also total nonsense. If that protest was an insurrection then almost any protest against our government of any kind can been declared an insurrection, and the government could use this argument to wipe out protesting the government.
Trump should argue both points, first, he is not guilting of incitement or insurrection by any known legal definition and making Jan 6 into an insurrection is a dangerous slippery slope. Incitement law is clear and he is not guilty of incitement. Then he can also argue, in fact he must argue, that the trial is unconstitutional, which it is. Impeachment is meant for removal, not to bar candidates from running for office, which is a decision to be left to the people. Arguing this point will make his legal case stronger if he chooses to run and files suit in the courts to throw out his disbarment. He will win that case in the courts on legal grounds, especially given John Roberts has asked out of the trial which is unprecedented for a presidential impeachment.
www.washingtonexaminer.com
