GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy Torpedoes Trump Defense in Explaining Why He Voted to Continue Senate Trial: ‘Disorganized, Random… Didn’t Talk About the Issues at Hand’
Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy (R) unexpectedly switched his position on the constitutionality of the Senate impeachment trial of Donald Trump, and he explained his new position by calling out the dreadful nature of the former president’s impeachment defense counsel.
After a long day of opening arguments by the House Impeachment Managers and Trump defense lawyers Bruce Castor and David Schoen, the Senate voted on a procedural motion to dismiss from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R), who claimed the trial of the now-former president was unconstitutional. The measure fell short of a majority, with 56 Senators voting against it, including six Republicans. Tuesday’s roll call very closely tracked a similar vote in two weeks ago that failed 45 – 55 — but this time Cassidy joined the majority of Democrats in backing the trial’s legitimacy.
After the House Democrats’ compelling video montage of the violence perpetrated against the Capitol, and how Trump’s rhetoric fed into it, both Castor and Schoen offered up alternately befuddling and threatening responses, which were roundly panned by political and legal observers alike.
The striking contrast between the two sides clearly made an impression on Cassidy, who cited the disparity in competence and relevance in a brief interview outside the Senate chamber after it recessed for the day.
“It speaks for itself,” Cassidy said, in apparent response to a question about the Trump team’s opening defense. “It was disorganized, random, had nothing — 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,” he added.
Cassidy also put out an official statement on his vote switch, in which he reiterated his judgment that the House Democrats made a much stronger case for their side. But he added a caveat that this procedural vote should not be read as a harbinger of his position on Trump’s ultimate guilt: “This vote is not a prejudgment on the final vote to convict.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy: “If anyone disagrees with my vote and would like an explanation I ask them to listen to the arguments presented by the House Managers and former Pres. Trump’s lawyers. The House managers had much stronger constitutional arguments. The president’s team did not.” pic.twitter.com/9rNujZFHDR
— Phil Mattingly (@Phil_Mattingly) February 9, 2021
Watch the video above, via MSNBC.
