Trump's second impeachment trial: Day 1

By Meg Wagner, Melissa Macaya, Melissa Mahtani, Mike Hayes and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 8:30 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021
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6:39 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Trump attorney Bruce Castor: "I thought we had a good day"

From CNN’s Hill team

Bruce Castor, defense attorney for former President Donald Trump, departs the US Capitol following the first day of the second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, February 9, in Washington, DC.
Bruce Castor, defense attorney for former President Donald Trump, departs the US Capitol following the first day of the second impeachment trial of former U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday, February 9, in Washington, DC. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Bruce Castor, one of former President Trump’s lawyers who is facing mounting criticism for his performance during opening arguments at the impeachment trial today, told reporters, “I thought we had a good day.”

Asked if he expects any adjustments to be made to the legal strategy after today, Castor said, “No, I set up the outline a week ago and it will not change.”

Castor did not engage when a reporter asked him to address the growing list of Republicans who have criticized his time on the floor today and instead reiterated, “I thought we had a good day, thank you.”

On what he made of GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy being the additional Republican to join Democrats in the vote today that established the impeachment trial as constitutional, Castor said, “I don’t make anything of it.”

But, giving a benchmark that would be a cause for concern, Castor said, “If it leaks, down to 34, then I'll start to worry.” 

On why he spoke first today, which switched the original order of speakers, Castor said, “Well, weren't you listening? I said during the speech why we change things around.”

Trump's other lawyer David Schoen was supposed to present first, not Castor, according to two people familiar with the plan. 

Castor said at the close of his remarks today that the reason the switch was made was the result of the House managers doing such a good job.

"I'll be quite frank with you. We changed what we were going to do on account that we thought that the House managers' presentation was well done,” Castor said earlier on Tuesday.

6:08 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Fact check: Castor's claim that Trump can't be impeached since he's out of office is misleading

From CNN's Tara Subramaniam

On the first day of former President Trump’s second impeachment trial, his lawyers spent much of their allotted time arguing against the constitutionality of the trial. At one point, Bruce Castor Jr. claimed that the Senate impeachment trial was unconstitutional because Trump is no longer in office.  

Stating that “The judgment in cases of impeachment i.e. what we are doing, shall not extend further than removal from office,” Castor argued it was unconstitutional to try Trump's impeachment because “[t]he object of the Constitution has been achieved” since Trump is already out of office.  

Facts First: This is misleading.  

The “object of the Constitution” and the judgment which Castor references do not include just removal from office. Article 1 Section 3 of the Constitution states that “Judgment in Cases of Impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United States.”  

Because the Constitution outlines two judgements in cases of impeachment, it’s misleading at best for Castor to argue that the object of the Constitution has been achieved solely because Trump is no longer in office. Though Castor quoted the relevant section of the Constitution in full earlier in his remarks, he inaccurately characterized it in his argument for unconstitutionality.

6:14 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

GOP senator says he changed his vote after Trump's team did not make a "compelling, cogent" case

Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, the only GOP senator to change his vote on the constitutionality of former President Trump's impeachment, said he made his decision after Trump's legal team did not make a compelling argument.

"If you listen to it, it speaks for itself. It was disorganized, random. They talked about many things, but they didn't talk about the issue at hand," he said after the vote on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

Cassidy previously voted in favor of GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s recent motion that impeachment after Trump left office is unconstitutional.

"If I'm an impartial juror trying to make a decision based on the facts as presented on this issue, then the House managers did a much better job," Cassidy said.

When asked about the video of the riot at the US Capitol that the House impeachment managers showed during their arguments, Cassidy responded that it "wasn't the issue at hand," adding, "it speaks for itself. That's drama enough. That's not why I made my decision."

"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," he said.

Watch here:

5:55 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Fact check: Castor inaccurately suggests "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" must be criminal offenses

From CNN's Daniel Dale 

The Constitution says presidents can be impeached for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”  

Trump lawyer Bruce Castor, Jr. suggested Tuesday that “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” must be “criminal” offenses, urging the Senate to “understand” that “a high Crime is a felony and a Misdemeanor is a misdemeanor; the words haven't changed that much over the time.” 

Facts First: Castor is inaccurate. There is widespread agreement among constitutional scholars that the Framers of the Constitution did not believe “high Crimes and Misdemeanors" had to be violations of criminal law

While there is no definition of the phrase in the Constitution, which leaves it up to Congress to determine what qualifies, there is a long history of the phrase being interpreted by Congress to include abuses of the public trust that did not necessarily violate a criminal statute.  

5:54 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Republican senator gives tough criticism of Trump's defense attorney

From CNN's Manu Raju 

US Senator John Cornyn speaks to the press before the start of the trial of former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, February 9.
US Senator John Cornyn speaks to the press before the start of the trial of former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday, February 9. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

GOP Sen. John Cornyn told reporters after today's impeachment proceedings that former President Trump's defense team was "not one of the finest I've seen." 

“And then I thought the President's lawyer, the first lawyer, just rambled on and on and on and didn't really address the constitutional argument. Finally the second lawyer got around to it, and I thought, did an effective job," he said.

Attorney David Schoen, who spoke second, was supposed to present first, not Bruce Castor, according to two people familiar with the plan.

As he closed his opening argument, Castor said they changed the order because the House managers did such a good job. 

"I've seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments and that was not one of the finest I've seen," he added.

Six GOP senators voted with Democrats, establishing that the impeachment trial is constitutional despite calls from some Republicans to dismiss proceedings, but Cornyn was not one of them.

6:24 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

Trump unhappy with his attorney's performance, sources say

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins

Former President Trump was unhappy with Bruce Castor's opening argument on the Senate floor this afternoon, according to two people familiar with his reaction.

Trump was almost screaming as Castor made meandering arguments that struggled to get at the heart of his defense team's argument, which is supposed to be over the constitutionality of holding a trial for a president no longer in office.

Given the legal team was assembled a little over a week ago, it went as expected, one of the sources told CNN. Trump's allies were flabbergasted when Trump's attorneys switched speaking slots at the last minute.

Watch here:

5:43 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

The perpetrators of the Capitol riot "should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," says Sen. Romney

From CNN's Kristin Wilson

J. Scott Applewhite/AP
J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, said the video presentation aired in the senate chamber by the House managers showed that the riot that occurred on Jan. 6 was “reprehensible and vile” and that the perpetrators should be prosecuted. 

"I think it, as both counsels on both sides said, the acts that occurred in this building are reprehensible and vile and should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”

Ever polite, Romney said both sides did a good job laying out their arguments in today’s presentations.

“I think they both did a very fine job laying out the pros and cons of constitutionality,” he said. “I continue to be convinced by the preponderance of the scholarly opinion that it is constitutional to carry out a trial of an official after they left office. In this case, the President was impeached prior to leaving office. That to me is relevant and the trial continues after he's left office.”

Romney was asked whether he thinks the constitutionality vote – where six Republicans voted with Democrats – is a predictor of how a final verdict will look.

“There’s no way I can predict that,” he said.

5:28 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

How a Trump team adviser described his legal team's messy opening day

From CNN's Jim Acosta

An adviser to former President Trump's team offered a candid assessment of the messy opening day for the former president's impeachment team. 

Part of the problem for Trump, the adviser said, is that the ex-President had some trouble in assembling a legal team for the Senate trial, noting his first group of lawyers bailed on him.

The adviser said Trump could be in serious jeopardy if he finds himself charged in criminal court, given his inability to attract a high-powered legal team for the impeachment trial.

"Trump is f*cked if anyone ever charges him. No one wants to work with him," the adviser said.

The adviser responded to the incoherent presentation from defense attorney Bruce Castor, saying, "What the hell is going on?"

A separate senior adviser to Trump insisted that Castor was attempting to lower the emotional temperature in the Senate before attorney David Schoen began his presentation.

"This is about lowering the temperature following the Democrats' emotionally charged opening, before dropping the hammer on the unconstitutional nature of this impeachment witch hunt," the adviser said.

5:29 p.m. ET, February 9, 2021

This GOP senator changed his vote on the constitutionality of Trump's impeachment

From CNN's Manu Raju

Sen. Bill Cassidy
Sen. Bill Cassidy Susan Walsh/AP

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana, was the only GOP senator to change his vote on the constitutionality of former President Trump's impeachment.

Cassidy previously voted in favor of GOP Sen. Rand Paul’s recent motion that impeachment after Trump left office is unconstitutional.

However, speaking to CNN earlier, Cassidy said he heard a “very good opening” by the House impeachment managers. 

He said they made “very good arguments” on the constitutional question and that he wanted to hear from the other side.

“I’ve always said I would approach this with an open mind and would listen as an impartial juror to both sides,” Cassidy said.

A total of six GOP senators voted with Democrats, passing the hurdle to proceed despite some Republican calls to dismiss proceedings.

The vote was passed 56-44.