Trump lawyer argues that impeachment is politically motivated

Former President Trump’s attorney Bruce Castor opened his defense on Tuesday by arguing the impeachment trial is explicitly political and an effort by Democrats to ensure they never have to face Trump in an election again.

“Let’s understand why we’re really here,” Castor said. “We’re really here because the majority of the House of Representatives does not want to face Donald Trump as a political candidate in the future.”

If Trump is convicted in the Senate by a two-thirds majority, it would then only require a simple majority to bar him from running for office again.

Castor accused Democrats of taking the easy way out and of infantilizing ordinary Americans, who he said had already handled the matter by voting Trump out of office.

“The American people just spoke and just changed administrations,” Castor said.

The president’s attorney had a long wind up, praising the Democratic House managers for their eloquent and emotional arguments and giving a historical assessment about democracy stretching back to Greece.

Castor argued that impeachment was becoming too common, noting that it was rare before the 1990s but now has happened three times since former President Clinton was impeached.

He warned that Trump’s second impeachment could backfire on Democrats, who are defending both the House and Senate in the midterm elections.

“This is supposed to be the ultimate safety valve, the last thing that happens, the most rare treatment … so the slippery slope principle will have taken hold if we continue forward,” Castor said.

“After we are long done here and after there has been a shift in the political winds, and after there is a change in the makeup in the U.S. House … and maybe Senate, the pressure from those folks back home, especially for members of the House [to impeach] will be tremendous,” he said.