Supporters of former President Donald Trump are building his impeachment trial into a battle for the soul of the Republican Party and the first shots in the 2024 White House race.
His legal team outlined its strategy on Wednesday, arguing it is unconstitutional for the Senate to convict a former president and that his speech at a Jan. 6 rally in Washington did not directly cause the deadly assault on the United States Capitol later that day.
But it also left open the possibility of revisiting Trump’s unfounded claims that he won the November election.
The possibility of the Senate trial to feature, at least in part, the Trump legal team repeating its client’s unproven stolen election claims leaves one section of his allies hoping the former president seizes an opportunity to use the proceedings to defend his political movement and begin preparing for a return to power.
John Fredericks, a conservative radio host and confidant of “America First” strategist Steve Bannon, said Democrats were motivated by political considerations and that Trump should mount a political defense based on election fraud, not a “namby-pamby” legalistic play.
“Democrats are doing this for one reason: destroy President Trump, destroy his ability to lead the movement, to run again in the future, to discredit his movement’s followers, and shame them into silence,” he said. “The defense of unconstitutionality or the First Amendment doesn’t cut it.”
Democratic impeachment managers outlined their case on Tuesday morning, saying Trump aimed his supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the Capitol and accusing him of inciting an insurrection.
“His conduct endangered the life of every single member of Congress, jeopardized the peaceful transition of power and line of succession, and compromised our national security,” they wrote.
In response, Trump’s lawyers, David Schoen and Bruce Castor, denied he incited a riot. At the same time, they introduced questions about voting procedures.
“It is admitted that after the November election, the 45th President exercised his First Amendment right under the Constitution to express his belief that the election results were suspect, since with very few exceptions, under the convenient guise of Covid-19 pandemic ‘safeguards’ states election laws and procedures were changed by local politicians or judges without the necessary approvals from state legislatures,” they wrote.
Republican senators have signaled their intention to acquit Trump. In a procedural vote last week, 45 of them voted in favor of dismissing the case, suggesting that Democrats have little chance of amassing the 67 votes they need to convict.
That gives Trump something of a blank canvas for his case, said Frank Bowman, a professor of law at the University of Missouri and an impeachment expert.
“Unless the guy comes down in person and begins throwing rocks at the senators on the Senate floor, he’s going to get acquitted. And he might get acquitted then anyway,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter in terms of outcome what the arguments are.”
Throwing rocks is what several advisers have been urging Trump to do. Most notably, an insider told the Washington Examiner that Bannon had been one of the most radical in telling Trump to protect his legacy and future by appearing in person to make his case.
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The 45th President’s Answer to Article of Impeachment: pic.twitter.com/SWm1h0PQk3
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) February 2, 2021
With Trump biding his time in Florida, banned from Twitter and his favorite ways of communicating, and the Biden administration soaking up airtime, the trial is a way to return to the center of attention.
Fredericks said it is critical for Trump to fight impeachment in a way that would exonerate the millions of people who had stood with him through the election fight.
“Let’s get the issue debated, and the people can decide from themselves,” he said.
The risk is that such tactics would alienate Republican senators. A constitutional case would give them cover to vote against convicting Trump without having to endorse false claims that the election was stolen, Bowman said.
“The question is the degree to which Trump seems intent on making the Republicans’ lives harder,” he said.
This is exactly the point for Trump’s most radical supporters.
“This impeachment is actually more important than the first impeachment,” said alt-right provocateur Jack Posobiec on Bannon’s War Room podcast this week. “The second impeachment is more important because this impeachment is actually a proxy war for the soul of the Republican Party and the direction of our country.”
