GOP Sen. Cassidy Wants to Hear Trump Defense Explain His ‘Inaction’ as Lawmakers Were Evacuated During Capitol Riot
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said he wants to hear defense attorneys for former President Donald Trump explain his apparent inaction on January 6 as a mob of his supporters ransacked the Capitol Building in a violent attack that disrupted the certification of the 2020 election, forced the evacuation of lawmakers, and left at least five people dead.
“There’s a few things that they laid out with great care. The timeline, in which you see the events unfold. And during that timeline, the president’s inaction in calling out support for the police officers.”
Cassidy noted the “panic-stricken” pleas from police officers overwhelmed by the mob, coming at the same time as Trump was calling up senators to demand they decertify the election.
“Presumably, since we were at that point being evacuated, and I think he was told that, there was some awareness of the events. What I hope the defense does is explain that.”
REPORTER: Is there any question in your mind that Donald Trump was responsible for the riot here on Jan. 6?
CASSIDY: Ask me after I hear the defense arguments. … You don’t make a decision as a juror until you hear both sides. Period, end of story. pic.twitter.com/Al4jZdTI3M
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) February 11, 2021
Trump’s delayed response to the attack on the Capitol has been detailed in news reports that he was delighted by the spectacle as he watched it unfold on television. Democratic House impeachment managers also noted a tweet sent out by Trump, minutes after his vice president Mike Pence was evacuated from the senate, saying “Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution.”
The argument that Trump was derelict in duty as president and commander in chief by failing to take action to stop the riot — or even urge his supporters to go home — is what National Review columnist Andy McCarthy says is the strongest argument that Trump should be convicted.
“The most indefensible thing about this episode is the hours during which the siege was going on, when former President Trump didn’t respond to it,” McCarthy said on Mediaite’s The Interview podcast Thursday.
Cassidy — who thus far has praised the arguments from House managers and castigated Trump’s defense — also said he wants to hear the defense team explain Trump continuing to falsely claim the election was stolen after the attack.
“I still have people back home continuing to say the Dominion machines were rigged. Even though different news outlets have printed retractions, apologies and otherwise disassociated themselves from that story,” Cassidy said, referring to the retractions ran by networks like Fox News and Newsmax after spreading conspiracy theories about the election.
“But obviously the president repeated it over and over,” Cassidy said. “People felt as if they had no recourse because their vote was being stolen. Well, the president built that story.”
Watch above, via The Washington Post.
