White House Defense Team Widely Panned For “Incoherent” Presentation Filled With Lies, Process

Impeachment HQ

7 years ago

On the first day of the Senate impeachment trial, it’s even more clear that Donald Trump’s defense team is simply unable to refute the incredibly damaging evidence collected against him.

Neither White House Counsel Pat Cipollone nor personal lawyer Jay Sekulow have offered a single defense of Trump’s actions. They can’t refute the evidence, so they’ve focused their arguments on process—or lied outright.

Here’s what folks are saying about the White House’s flailing defense strategy:

CNN: Fact Check: White House Counsel Falsely Claims Republicans Weren’t Allowed Into Closed Hearings

“[Cipollone] then immediately proceeded to talk about process, process, process… Whereas Schiff was really focused on substance, substance, substance of what actually occurred” — Gloria Borger, CNN

Cipollone's biggest lie so far: "No Republicans were allowed" in depositions conducted in the @HouseIntel SCIF.

FACT: @HouseGOP members on the Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Oversight committees were allowed in those depositions.
— Andrew Feinberg (@AndrewFeinberg) January 21, 2020

This isn't a legal defense.

It's the equivalent of impeachment jazz hands.
— Kate Brannen (@K8brannen) January 21, 2020

Within minutes, Sekulow already has made two mistakes:

– he called Schiff a senator

– he complained about the lack of counsel for the president in the Judiciary committee. No, the WH turned down that chance during the Judiciary portion of the hearings
— Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) January 21, 2020

Cipollone says “Not even Mr. Schiff’s Republican colleagues were allowed into the SCIF” during impeachment investigation.

That’s 100% false. Any member of the three investigating committees could attend, and many Republicans did!
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) January 21, 2020

Cipollone seems to be arguing that because Trump released the phone call, he was "transparent" and, therefore, did nothing wrong.

Is doing something in front of everyone really a defense? #ImpeachmentTrial
— Domenico Montanaro (@DomenicoNPR) January 21, 2020

Sekulow delivering a rambling, incoherent argument
— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) January 21, 2020

If GOP Senators were hoping Trump's defense team would provide them a dignified and reasonable justification to acquit the President, it's clear that's not going to happen.

Senators are simply going to have to go full MAGA and own it in front of the nation.

Good luck with that.
— David Jolly (@DavidJollyFL) January 21, 2020

Virtually everything Sekulow has said so far has either been a lie or willful misconstrual of the arguments he's responding to. Again, on brand.
— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) January 21, 2020

It's incorrect to say Democrats did not seek testimony from all of the witnesses they now want at Senate trial.

They sought all of them, but the WH / administration ordered them not to appear.
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 21, 2020

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