Trump impeachment trial: Live updates, online coverage ...

By MATTHEW CHOI02/09/2021 10:27 PM ESTFormer President Donald Trump’s defense lawyer David Schoen on Tuesday night defended his team’s winding statements during the opening of the Senate impeachment trial, saying it would be “very well prepared” in the future.Speaking with Fox News’ Sean Hannity, Schoen said that his defense partner, Bruce Castor, and Castor’s law firm “seem to be very capable people” and that Castor hadn’t planned to begin his arguments on Tuesday.“So, I’m sure they will be very well prepared in the future and do a great job in the case,” Schoen said.Seemingly everyone who had watched the Senate trial earlier in the day, including Trump, was left mystified by Castor’s opening remarks, which touched on topics as disparate as Ancient Greek democracy and the “extraordinary” gallantry of U.S. senators. By MATTHEW CHOI02/09/2021 03:54 PM ESTBruce Castor, former President Donald Trump's defense lawyer, opened his impeachment trial remarks Tuesday by condemning the Capitol riot as "repugnant" while also praising senators as "extraordinary people.""You will not hear any member of the team representing former President Trump say anything but in the strongest possible way denounce the violence of the rioters and those that breached the Capitol," Castor said.In a meandering statement, Castor also denied Trump's culpability in the Capitol riot by evoking the former president's right to free speech. By BEN LEONARD02/09/2021 03:50 PM ESTRep. Jamie Raskin, the lead House impeachment manager, gave an emotional speech during former President Trump’s Senate trial on Tuesday, remembering his late son, whom he buried the day before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and breaking down while talking about being separated from his daughter during the deadly siege.Raskin’s son, Tommy, who was 25, died by suicide on Dec. 31 and was buried on Jan. 5. By BENJAMIN DIN02/09/2021 02:14 PM ESTSen. Kevin Cramer made it clear Tuesday what he thought about the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump: "Welcome to the stupidest week in the Senate."Shortly before the trial was set to begin, the North Dakota Republican released a video statement criticizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for using impeachment "flippantly" as a political tool."As a response to her view that Donald Trump demeaned the Office of the President, the House Speaker is now making a mockery of Congress and one of the most serious institutions in our country," Cramer said. Sen. Patrick Leahy, the president pro tempore of the Senate, who is presiding over the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, opens the trial day in the Senate at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. By ANNA KAMBHAMPATY02/09/2021 01:45 PM ESTVermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the chamber's president pro tempore, on Tuesday pledged fairness and an equal say for Senate lawmakers as he presides over the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump."My intention and solemn obligation is to conduct this trial with fairness to all," Leahy wrote in a letter to his Senate colleagues. By DANIEL PAYNE02/09/2021 09:22 AM ESTSen. Mazie Hirono said Tuesday that her personal experience at the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection will inform her decision-making as she takes in the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.“Well, frankly, all of us were witnesses to the horrific events of Jan. 6, so I don’t have very many questions,” Hirono (D-Hawaii) said in a CNN interview Tuesday morning.