Louisiana GOP issues stinging rebuke of Sen. Bill Cassidy after he votes for constitutionality of trial against Trump
The Louisiana state Republican Party issued a stinging rebuke of one of their U.S. senators after he voted in favor of the constitutionality of the impeachment trial against former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said that the House managers arguing for the constitutionality of the trial persuaded him to vote in favor of the resolution and the lawyers defending Trump did a poor job.
"It was disorganized, random. They talked about many things but they didn't talk about the issue at hand, and so, if I'm an impartial juror, and I'm trying to make a decision based upon the facts as presented on this issue, then the House managers did a much better job," Cassidy said to reporters.
The motion passed 56-44 with six Republicans, including Cassidy, voting with the Democrats.
"The issue at hand is, is it constitutional to impeach a president who has left office, and the House managers made a compelling, cogent case and the president's team did not," Cassidy explained.
He went on to say that he was approaching the trial as an impartial juror when asked if he was open to convicting Trump.
The Republican Party of Louisiana immediately issued a statement rebuking Cassidy for his vote.
"The Republican Party of Louisiana is profoundly disappointed by Senator Bill Cassidy's vote on the constitutionality of the impeachment trial now underway against former President, now private citizen, Donald J. Trump. We feel that an impeachment trial of a private citizen is not only an unconstitutional act, but also an attack on the very foundation of American democracy, which will have far reaching and unforeseen consequences for our republic," the statement read.
"We also remind all Americans that former President Trump is innocent of the politically motivated, bogus charges now pending against him in a kangaroo court presided over by an openly hostile, political opponent. How far justice has fallen in the short time that Democrats have been in control of the federal government!" the statement concluded.
One Trump lawyer said he remained confident that they would win regardless of Cassidy's unexpected vote.
"We had a good day," Bruce Castor said.
When asked about Cassidy's vote, he responded, "I don't think anything of it. If it leaks down to 34 then I'll start to worry."
The former president is not likely to be convicted by the Senate given that Republicans control 50 seats and two-thirds (or 67 members) of the Senate needs to vote in favor of conviction in order for it to pass the constitutional threshold.
When Cassidy was asked what was so bad about the attorneys' argument, he responded, "Did you listen to it? It speaks for itself."
Here's the statement from Cassidy to the media:
'Disorganized': GOP senator rips Trump's defense teamwww.youtube.com
Maxine Waters said Trump 'absolutely should be charged with premeditated murder'
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) said that former President Donald Trump should "absolutely" be charged with premeditated murder for the Capitol riots on Jan. 6.
During a Tuesday interview with MSNBC host Joy Reid, Waters claimed without evidence that Trump "had advance planning about the invasion that took place in our Capitol."
Waters also made another accusation, "There's information that some of the planning came out of individuals working in this campaign."
"As a matter of fact, he absolutely should be charged with premeditated murder because of the lives that were lost with this invasion with his insurrection," Waters said of Trump. "We have to fight as hard as we can to see to it that there's some justice."
Waters continued, "For the president of the United States to sit and watch the invasion and the insurrection and not say a word because he knew he had absolutely initiated it – and as some of them said, 'He invited us to come. We're here at the invitation of the president of the United States.'"
Maxine Waters: Trump, "should be charged with premeditated murder." https://t.co/l9ATfpKC2E— 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 (@𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡)1612327147.0
In January, Waters called for Trump to be impeached for a second time because he is "capable of starting a civil war."
"This president has spent four years abusing his power, lying, embracing authoritarianism [and] radicalizing his supporters against democracy," Waters said last month on the House floor. "This corruption poisoned the minds of his supporters, inciting them to willingly join white supremacists, neo-Nazis and paramilitary extremists in a siege of the United States Capitol building, the very seat of American democracy."
Waters called Trump "the worst president in the history of the United States."
"This president intends to exercise power long after he is out of office …," she said, "we should be concerned that the Republicans will not defend him and he is capable of starting a civil war. He must be impeached. He must be stopped now."
Waters has her own history of spouting political rhetoric that could be considered inciting dangerous confrontations.
In June 2018, Waters delivered a fiery speech where she called on her followers to harass staffers of the Trump administration.
"If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them, and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere," Waters commanded.
Maxine Waters calls for attacks on Trump administration: "If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in… https://t.co/z7vSo7lkcp— Ryan Saavedra (@Ryan Saavedra)1529871853.0
In September 2018, Waters talked about her controversial command to harass Trump Cabinet members, and said, "I did not threaten [Trump] constituents and supporters. I do that all the time, but I didn't do that that time."
Maxine Waters: I threaten Trump supporters "all the time" https://t.co/IxzzP9eASt— Ryan Saavedra (@Ryan Saavedra)1536603181.0
Alan Dershowitz: 'It's clearly UNCONSTITUTIONAL' to impeach Trump after leaving office
As the Senate prepares for former President Trump's second impeachment trial, many are asking whether it's constitutional to try a president after leaving office. Alan Dershowitz, lawyer and host of the of "The Dershow," joined Glenn Beck on the radio program to talk about the legal battles Trump still faces.
Dershowitz said he believes the Senate doesn't have the authority to convict Trump, now that he's a private citizen again, and thus can't use impeachment to bar him from running for office again.
"The Constitution says the purpose of impeachment is to remove somebody. He [Trump] is out of office. There's nothing left to do.
It doesn't say you can impeach him to disqualify him for the future. It says, if you remove him you can then add disqualification, but you can't just impeach somebody to disqualify them," Dershowitz said.
"The Senate can't try ordinary citizens. So once you're an ordinary citizen, you get tried only in the courts, not in the Senate. So it's clearly unconstitutional," he added.
Dershowitz, who served on Trump's legal team during the first impeachment trial, also discussed whether he thinks Trump is legally (or even just ethically) responsible for the Capitol riot earlier this month, and whether those engaging in violence could be considered "domestic terrorists."
Watch the video below to catch more of the conversation:
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Chuck Schumer: House to hand Senate impeachment article Monday; 'make no mistake,' a trial will happen
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will transmit the single article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Friday.
Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor, said in no uncertain terms that there will be an impeachment trial and a Senate vote on whether to convict Trump, whose term as president ended Wednesday when President Joe Biden was inaugurated.
"Make no mistake: A trial will be held in the United States Senate, and there will be a vote on whether to convict the president," Schumer said.
Schumer dismissed arguments advanced by some Republican lawmakers and legal experts that an impeachment trial for a former civil officer is unconstitutional once said officer has left office.
"It makes no sense whatsoever that a president or any official could commit a heinous crime against our country and then be permitted to resign so as to avoid accountability and a vote to disbar them from future office," Schumer argued. "Makes no sense."
JUST IN: Majority Leader Schumer says Speaker Pelosi will deliver article of impeachment against former Pres. Trump… https://t.co/5EcqstCW0c— ABC News Politics (@ABC News Politics)1611328752.0
Senate Democrats and Republicans are in the midst of negotiations on when the impeachment trial should start, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) pushing for the trial to be delayed until February, according to multiple reports.
On Thursday, Politico's Playbook email reported that lawmakers were privately discussing a three-day impeachment trial for Trump, which would be the fastest of any trial for a president in U.S. history. However, Republicans want their impeachment managers and Trump's lawyers to have adequate time to prepare for the trial, which is why McConnell is reportedly asking for a delay.
"Senate Republicans are strongly united behind the principle that the institution of the Senate, the office of the presidency, and former President Trump himself all deserve a full and fair process that respects his rights and the serious factual, legal, and constitutional questions at stake," McConnell said in a statement. "Given the unprecedented speed of the House's process, our proposed timeline for the initial phases includes a modest and reasonable amount of additional time for both sides to assemble their arguments before the Senate would begin to hear them."
At least some Democrats are open to the possibility of delaying the impeachment trial.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told CNN on Friday that Democrats may be open to a quid pro quo where Republicans work to confirm Biden's Cabinet nominees before the trial starts, giving Trump's legal team time to mount a defense.
"I think Democrats will be open to considering a delay that allows former President Trump time to assemble his legal team and his defense for the impeachment trial if we are making progress on confirming the very talented, seasoned, and diverse team that President Joe Biden has nominated to serve in his cabinet," Coons said.
@mkraju @wolfblitzer Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) thinks Democrats "will be open to considering a delay" of Trump's seco… https://t.co/TwdPlusW4I— The Recount (@The Recount)1611270442.0
Murkowski: It would be 'appropriate' to bar Trump from running in 2024
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said earlier this week that she believes it would be "appropriate" for Congress to bar President Donald Trump from holding public office again, blaming him for inciting the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to impeach Trump a second time, with 10 Republicans voting alongside Democrats to impeach the president on charges of inciting an insurrection against the U.S. government.
Speaking to KTUU-TV, Murkowski said that the first time Trump was impeached was "a highly, highly, highly, highly partisan process, this is different." Citing House Republican Conference Chairwoman Rep. Liz Cheney's vote to impeach Trump, Murkowski said that this time impeachment shares bipartisan support.
She did not indicate how she will vote when the Senate conducts an impeachment trial — which will take place sometime after Jan. 19 — but she did say she believes Trump committed impeachable offenses.
"I will do what I am required and entrusted to do as a senator, as effectively listening to that trial and that proceeding, and I will make that determination at that time," Murkowski said. "But what I will tell you is that what I believe is that this president has committed an impeachable offense through his words on the sixth of January, and leading up to the sixth of January, when he was not honest to the American people about the election and the election results."
"There must be a consequence for this action," she added.
A Senate impeachment trial conducted after the defendant has already left office is unprecedented in U.S. history. While some Republican senators such as Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) have said impeachment for the purpose of removing the president would be "moot," the second part of the Senate's impeachment power would bar Trump from seeking office again.
Murkowski supports preventing Trump from running for president again.
"I think that is one of the most consequential actions that we could take, and I think that would be appropriate," she said. "Given what we have seen from his actions and his failure to uphold the Constitution."
Though she did not say how she would vote, Murkowski's past statements indicate her strong preference for Trump to leave office. Last week, Murkowski called on President Trump to resign from office.
"I want him to resign. I want him out. He has caused enough damage," Murkowski told the Anchorage Daily News.
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